This Green Bay Packers bust is becoming somewhat of a punchline.
When the Green Bay Packers selected tight end Luke Musgrave in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, there was genuine excitement surrounding what he could potentially bring to the Packers' offense.
And you know what? Musgrave showed glimpses during his rookie campaign, catching 34 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown in 11 games.
Injuries then limited the Oregon State product to just seven contests last year, when he lost his job to Tucker Kraft, who was drafted one round behind Musgrave in 2023. But with Kraft now on the shelf with a torn ACL, Musgrave has finally gotten an opportunity to re-establish himself.
The problem is that the 25-year-old is failing at every turn.
Musgrave logged three catches for 23 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10, and then, this past Sunday, he managed one catch for minus-1 yards versus the New York Giants while playing in just 34.5 percent of the Packers' offensive snaps.
Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave. Credit: Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Matt Schneidman of The Athletic seems to have completely lost confidence in Musgrave and doesn't seem to understand why Matt LaFleur is sticking by the third-year pass-catcher.
"Musgrave not being able to stay on his feet kind of started as a joke, but it looks more like a reality after Sunday’s game," Schneidman wrote. "The drop-off from Tucker Kraft to him is drastic, especially in their abilities after the catch. Ball security was an issue for Musgrave against the New York Giants, too. There’s a reason John FitzPatrick and Josh Whyle out-snapped him, and I’m not sure why LaFleur vowed to play Musgrave more going forward."
Musgrave has totaled 13 grabs for 110 yards on the season, and it's looking more and more like the Bend, Or. native is a complete bust.
It's not like Musgrave was all that productive in college, either, but a very strong Scouting Combine caused his draft stock to skyrocket.
Again, Musgrave showed some serious promise during his debut season, but since then, he has demonstrated very little reason to believe in him long term.
Perhaps Green Bay should have made a move for a tight end at the trade deadline, which was right after Kraft went down with his season-ending injury.