Tucker Kraft’s bullish style is driving big gains

LOS ANGELES – Tucker Kraft lives by a simple maxim.

When the Packers’ second-year tight end catches the ball, he expects the first defender to miss the ball. Kraft did plenty of that on his way to a career-high 88 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Both of Kraft’s goals came in a crucial third quarter for Green Bay’s offense, which benefited from two takeaways from Xavier McKinney.

After McKinney recovered a loose fumble early in the quarter, Kraft converted a pass into the flat into the longest reception by a Packers tight end in 12 years for a 66-yard touchdown that gave Green Bay a 17:13 lead Time brought leadership.

When McKinney picked off Matthew Stafford on the next series, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound tight end put the exclamation point on Green Bay’s seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive as he muscled his way into the end zone a 7-yard TD.

“Just go back to the rules that I hold myself, the standard that I set at the beginning of the season — don’t let DB attack me in space,” Kraft said. “It still happens sometimes, but I always try to miss the first shot. But keep your head down, idiot in the Chinese store. That’s exactly what I do.”

After a big September, Kraft was expected to face a heavy workload against the Rams. Fellow tight end Luke Musgrave was active but did not play in the game after missing practice this week with an ankle injury.

What couldn’t have been predicted is that Kraft has the third-longest touchdown catch by a Packers tight end in the Super Bowl era, behind only Paul Coffman (78 yards in 1979), Tom Crabtree (72, 2012) and Jackie Harris (66). , 1993).

Based on the looks the Rams gave Green Bay’s offense in the second and middle periods, Kraft felt the Packers were well-positioned to spark explosive play from this formation.

Facing second-and-six after a run by Josh Jacobs, LaFleur put his foot down and Kraft and Co. went on a bullshit run, with quarterback Jordan Love hitting his tight end with flying colors. Sophomore receiver Dontayvion Wicks helped throw down a block to help Kraft score.

If Wicks has learned anything about playing with his 2023 draft classmate, it’s that the game is never over.

“He’s nice. He’s tough,” Wicks said. “He probably won’t go down on first contact. You can never stop blocking when Tuck is in. This is a big time for us. It’s not just the guys on the outside making plays in the passing game. It’s the tight ends, too.”

For Kraft, part of his job is to create great plays. For those who have defended him in practice, it’s no surprise that Kraft has great success on game days.

“I feel like Tucker can be the best tight end in the game, hands down,” cornerback Eric Stokes said. “He shows it week after week. He’s becoming more and more confident and he and Love have developed a connection and it’s become very dangerous.”

“Reed is down there somewhere”: The Packers couldn’t have gotten off to a quicker start as Love fired a 53-yard pass that second-year receiver Jayden Reed intercepted at the Rams’ 2-yard line despite being triple-covered.

The explosive win set up Jacobs’ first Packers touchdown, which gave Green Bay a 7-0 lead at the time. Asked what he saw on Love’s deep ball, Reed quipped: “I saw confidence.”

“There were three guys, I looked up and just told myself you have to make the play,” Reed said. “In college they used to say, ‘Shit, Reed’s down there somewhere, so just spit it out.’ That’s trust from “10.” I can’t throw the ball, I just have to make the play.

Paired with Kraft’s 66-yard TD, Sunday marked the first time Love threw two passes over 50 yards in the same game.

Reed, who finished the game with four catches for 78 yards, also added two runs for 19 yards, making him the sixth player in NFL history with more than 400 receiving yards and more than 100 rushing yards in the first five The team played a season.

He is the first NFL player to achieve this since Roger Craig was a running back in San Francisco in 1985.

“Just finding mismatches and gaps in the defense,” Reed said of the key to his overall success. “The coaches are doing a great job of putting us in a position to make a play and put us ahead. They’re doing a great job.”