GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers drafted a pair of budding stars in 2023 with receiver Jayden Reed and tight end Tucker Kraft.
With 14 weeks until the season-opening showdown against the Detroit Lions, the number 14 takes center stage for both.
For Reed, he has 14 touchdown receptions in his first two seasons. In Packers history, that’s tied with Don Hutson for the third-most, trailing only Billy Howton (17) and Greg Jennings (15). Reed and the immortal Hudson are the only players to start their careers with back-to-back seasons of six-plus receiving touchdowns.
Incredibly, Reed is the only player in NFL history to start his career with back-to-back seasons of at least 55 receptions, 750 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 100 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
In the 2023 draft, Reed was the sixth of 33 receivers selected. He ranks sixth with 119 receptions, fifth with 1,650 yards, second with 14 touchdowns and seventh with 61 first downs.
Incredibly, at 5-foot-10 7/8, Reed statistically was the NFL’s No. 1 deep threat. According to Pro Football Focus, 72 receivers were targeted at least 10 times on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. Reed caught 12-of-15, his 80.0 percent success rate was by far the best in the NFL, with Atlanta’s Darnell Mooney a distant second at 63.6 percent.
Reed isn’t preoccupied with the numbers, though. The next step isn’t about yards or catches but about playoff wins.
“As long as, at the end of the day, we end out on top and we win, that's all that matters,” Reed said last week at OTAs. “I'm not the type to care about targets. I really don't care about it. I could have two targets. If we win, I don't care, you know what I'm saying? That's just how I look at things. I'm a very unselfish person.
“Whenever anybody falls, I try to be the first person around to pick them up. I try to pick players up when they got their head down. That’s just what kind of player I am. I like to model myself after A(aron) Jones. He reminded me of myself a lot when he was around.”
Entering Year 3, Reed has grown physically and as a leader.
“He’s the strongest, most powerful he said he’s ever been in his life,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said recently. “When he came in here a couple years ago, I think he was like 185 (pounds). Now he’s at 199. Your body changes if you eat right and live right. And he has.
“And I think the biggest growth, too, is the way his leadership’s been right now. I really want to commend him because he’s standing behind Matthew Golden right now, helping him out with every single play. He’s going over to Mecole Hardman, who just got here (in free agency). All of our guys, the brotherhood’s strong right now, but he is the one guy who’s like, ‘I’m going out of my way’ because he’s a natural leader.”
One key for Reed will be limiting dropped passes. After catching 64 passes with only three drops as a rookie, Reed had 55 catches and 10 drops in 2024, according to PFF. In what could be an incredibly deep group of pass-catchers, Reed knows he has to make the most of what could be limited opportunities.
“Every day I’m on the JUGS machine so, hopefully, I minimize my drops,” Reed said. “That’s more opps for me. That’s more plays made.”
That’s what Kraft did last season. A third-round pick and the sixth tight end selected in 2023, Kraft and George Kittle were the only tight ends last season with at least 50 catches, 700 yards, seven touchdowns and 14.0 yards per catch.
Kraft finished the season ranked 20th with 65 targets but was 18th with 50 catches, seventh with 707 yards, second with 14.1 yards per catch and tied for fourth with seven touchdowns.
Getting him more opportunities is a priority, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said recently.
“That’s one thing we spent some time on this offseason is where we can get him to take the next step,” he said. “I think his route-running ability, getting him on more individual things like that, and just kind of growing him there. I think he did a really good job in the run game. That’s one thing that, hopefully, he can keep improving there to be a dominant player up front. Just trying to find different ways to give him the ball, that’s going to be the big thing for us.”
Last season, 42 tight ends were targeted more than 30 times. Kraft averaged 9.3 yards after the catch per catch – a staggering 2.7 yards more than anyone else (Kittle, 6.6).
“When you get in-season, plays build off of other plays,” position coach John Dunn said. “He’s a guy that’s shown what he is – it’s down the field, intermediate, at times it’s at or behind the line of scrimmage where he gets the ball. Obviously, he was doing quarterback sneaks. There’s screens that he was highly involved in. So, there’s quite a few different ways that you can.
“Obviously, you can be as creative as can be. The great thing about Tuck is he’ll do whatever you ask him and he’s working his tail off to be a complete player.”