Green Bay never really replaced Kraft last year, it just waited on him. He opened camp on the physically unable to perform list, has since worked his way into full team drills without a knee sleeve, and by his own account is trending toward being ready for the opener against Minnesota. Green Bay's front office is also reportedly working to lock him into an extension that would make him one of the highest-paid players at the position, which tells you plainly how the organization values the role he was playing before the injury: lead tight end in an offense built around Jordan Love, not a complementary piece.
What made Kraft dangerous wasn't volume, it was what happened after the catch. He led all qualified tight ends in yards after catch per reception in 2024 by a wide margin over George Kittle, and he was doing it again in 2025, ripping off long runs on underneath throws that most tight ends just fall down on. He's a load to bring to the ground for a big man, breaks tackles in the open field, and he's not just a receiving specialist either — he sustains blocks at the point of attack well enough that Green Bay trusts him on the edge of the run game. Love leaned on him near the goal line specifically, and Kraft answered by converting the bulk of his red-zone looks into touchdowns.
The honest risk is that everything great about him happened in a sample cut short by a torn ACL, and knees like that don't always come back throwing the same cuts. Kraft himself has said Green Bay plans to manage his reps for roughly the first half of the season, which means the version of him that was outrunning angles in the open field may not show up in September. He's also entering just his fourth season — the breakout was real, but it's one healthy stretch, not a body of work.
Kittle is the name in that range who's actually living the same story. He's rehabbing an Achilles instead of a knee, also hoping to be full-go by Week 1, also the guy his offense is built to funnel through when he's right. The difference is track record — Kittle has done this at an elite level for a decade, Kraft has done it for half a season. But Kraft is younger, his after-the-catch element is more explosive than anything Kittle offers at this stage of his career, and if the rehab holds, he's the tight end more likely to still be climbing two years from now instead of managing decline. Bet on the trajectory over the resume here.
