Green Bay Packers: Let’s Fire Up the Tucker Kraft Hype Train

Tucker Kraft is going to be back and better than ever for the Green Bay Packers. 

Well, maybe that's a bit of a projection here in mid-June. 

What we do know is that Kraft will be back from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. We also know the former South Dakota State Jackrabbit is expecting to play in Week 1 of the 2026 season without any restrictions.

"With how I feel, I would say I'm gonna get all the conditioning I need in camp to start Week 1 on no pitch count," Kraft said Wednesday at minicamp, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

The ACL tear happened on Nov. 2. Kraft is heading into seven months post-surgery. Star pass-rusher Micah Parsons recently came out and said that the Packers have a firm nine-month "no football rule" as it relates to coming back from a torn ACL. 

He'll be 10 months post-surgery by the time Week 1 rolls around and the Packers have to travel to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13. 

Kraft's rehab is going so good that he recently hit 21.5 miles per hour while running.

"Every single day I come in here, I try to get better, I try to get more healthy, so I wouldn't necessarily say I'm tracking my rehab based off of speed alone. But managing to hit that number where I am in my rehab right now is just a testament to the work that the staff and I have put in," Kraft explained.

So what should realistic expectations for Kraft be in 2026?

Consider the following. In just eight games last season, he caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns. Per Demovsky, he was the only tight end in the NFL with 30-plus receptions, 475-plus receiving yards, six-plus receiving touchdowns and an average of 15-plus yards per catch at the time of his injury.

He was also a YAC (yards after the catch) machine. Acme Packing Company looked into the numbers and found out that Kraft averaged 10.8 yards after the catch in 2025. That ranked third in the entire NFL behind running backs Jaylen Warren and Bijan Robinson.

He was also the only wide receiver or tight end in the Top 19 of the rankings. The next closest player in that category, Rashee Rice, checked in at No. 20 with 7.8 yards per catch.

Because of his unique blend of size, speed, agility, toughness and ability to catch the football, Kraft proved to be the ultimate weapon for the Packers in 2025 before his injury.

"I thought that at a combination of the do-it-all 'Y', which is [Kraft's position], that there wasn't another guy in the league that was doing it as well as I was," Kraft said. "Some people might think I'm delusional to say that, but ... the film is going to speak for itself. Outside zone, inside zone, screen game, down the field, as far as putting it all together I felt like I was at a great spot."

Now the only question remaining is whether or not Kraft can get back to that great spot quickly in 2026. What we've seen from him out of his first three NFL seasons would suggest that he's going to do everything in his power to get there.

From that point, it's just getting him the ball and letting him do what he does best.

All aboard the hype train. 

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