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NFL NFL Season is Underway GREEN BAY, Wis. — There’s not much Tucker Kraft struggles to do inside the walls of 1265 Lombardi Ave. these days. Well, maybe there’s one thing. New Packers defensive end Micah Parsons was asked about his early impressions of playing with Kraft after Thursday night’s 27-18 win over the Commanders. He mentioned nothing about football in his first answer, even after the third-year tight end tied a career high with six catches, set a career high with 124 receiving yards and caught his second touchdown in as many weeks as the Packers improved to 2-0. Advertisement “Tuck, bro, ask him, ” Parsons began. “I’m 2-0 against him in ping pong. He wants to challenge me. He’s just not ready yet, man. ” Kraft had finished his nightly media responsibilities on the other end of the locker room. He mosied toward a garbage can, sharp blade in hand as he sliced tape off his wrists. The 24-year-old had plenty of reasons to smile after his career night, so it was time to put a frown on his face. I told him that Parsons wanted a question relayed to him. You’re really 0-2 against him? Kraft smiled widely again — nothing was wiping it off his face on this night — confirming his winless record against the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Though he had a comeback. “Micah brings his own paddle to work! ” Kraft shouted for the whole locker room to hear. Parsons, sitting at his locker still, was caught red-handed. “Aww, man! Don’t let the secrets out! ” Parsons cried. “Paddles only cost $50! ” Kraft may not be any good at ping pong, but he sure is good at football. Drafted in the third round in 2023 out of FCS South Dakota State, Kraft arrived in Green Bay second fiddle to the team’s second-round pick that year, Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave. Because of Musgrave’s multiple long-term injuries and Kraft’s own explosion, he has blossomed into a rising star looking to build on a breakout 2024 campaign. After introducing himself to a national audience Thursday as a cornerstone of one of the NFL’s best teams, perhaps it’s time to drop the “rising” and simply call Kraft a star with potential to be among the league’s elite at the position. “I been screaming his name since last year, man, ” running back Josh Jacobs said, as if he were shoving it in the faces of those who are just hopping on board the hype train that Jacobs rides shotgun in. Full team effort pic. twitter. com/DWKv Aua5Jr — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 12, 2025 Jacobs said earlier this week, to a question about Kraft, that guys have to be “a little off” to play certain positions. In an appearance on former Packers running back AJ Dillon’s podcast last year, Kraft said that he sometimes tells opponents while trash-talking that he’s going to burn down their childhood homes. Advertisement Kraft may be a bit of a wild card, but he’s the Packers’ wild card and they love him. So much so that teammates voted Kraft one of the offense’s three season-long captains this year (the Packers elected season-long captains for the first time since 2022). Among the seven total captains named — quarterback Jordan Love, Jacobs, Kraft, defensive end Rashan Gary, linebacker Quay Walker, safety Xavier Mc Kinney and linebacker Isaiah Mc Duffie for special teams — Kraft is the youngest and least experienced in the NFL. Not only is he integral to what the Packers do on the field, but he’s also a pillar of the team off it. “That was pretty special, ” Kraft said of being named captain. “It’s something that I wasn’t necessarily surprised (by) … I do breathe the standard I carry with me in everything I do. Like I said before, the early mornings, the late afternoons here, trying to be that smile for the guys that don’t know what they’re doing, they’re unsure about their status in the locker room. It doesn’t matter who it is, I come in here and I just try to get some recovery and a workout in, and it takes me four hours because I talk to everybody in the building. It’s just how you carry yourself and how your teammates respond to you. ” And head coach Matt La Fleur: “I can’t say enough great things about Tuck and just the growth that we’ve seen from him from the time he’s gotten here. But it’s not only on the football field. It’s every facet of life, I would say, and he’s a real leader for us. ” That success came in several different ways for Kraft against the Commanders in a second consecutive convincing win against one of the conference’s best teams. Example No. 1: With both Kraft and Musgrave lined up on the ball midway through the first quarter on a second-and-6 from Green Bay’s 23-yard line, Kraft heard the Commanders defense identifying the Packers in a Y-Y set (essentially two Y tight ends blocking for a running play). Kraft knew the Packers were passing the ball and he knew the Commanders were anticipating a toss. The result? Kraft was wide open down the seam for 57 yards with linebacker Bobby Wagner pointing for somebody to cover Kraft as he breezed by. The Packers took a 7-0 lead four plays later. “We just had them communicating wrong and we were able to gash them, ” Kraft said. Let's goooooo, Tuck! ? : Prime Video pic. twitter. com/l Osvk MZA1D — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 12, 2025 Example No. 2: Kraft caught a pass in the flat on second-and-11 from Washington’s 24-yard line in the second quarter. Kraft vowed last year never to let a defensive back tackle him in space. Well, he met safety Will Harris around the 20-yard line in space and threw him aside like a rag doll before proceeding for a 17-yard gain. That’s a man of his word. Two Jacobs runs later, the Packers led 14-0. Advertisement “Man, ” wide receiver Romeo Doubs said. “He threw that boy off him. ” Example No. 3: On third-and-6 from Washington’s 45-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Kraft drew an illegal contact penalty on Harris — he said he was getting held the entire route — and even fell down in the middle of the play. He managed to get back up, come back on the ball near the right sideline and secure an 8-yard completion from Love to convert the first down. Kraft mentioned that play because of his athleticism when asked which of his many stood out. Then five plays later … Example No. 4: The Packers offense was sputtering and needed a knockout punch up 17-10 with about nine minutes remaining in the game when Love fielded a shotgun snap on first-and-10 from Washington’s 8-yard line. Jacobs aligned to Love’s right and they faked a handoff. Kraft engaged with linebacker Frankie Luvu as if to block for a running play before releasing into the end zone wide open. Love found him with ease. “You want the safety that’s got you in man coverage, the player that’s stretched over top of you, you want everybody to feel like, ‘OK, yeah, this is a run, '” Kraft said. “And then obviously getting out. But I’ve had a lot of those opportunities from rookie year, Year 2 to now, where you have to attack that player and then either get to the flat or whatever complementary pass we’re working. But you have to, at first, to set everything up, you have to be aggressive. ” Who needs a true No. 1 wide receiver when you have a true No. 1 tight end capable of posting similar numbers? That’s exactly what Kraft is, and he showed Thursday why he might be more than just a centerpiece for the Packers. As the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews approach the back end of their careers, there’s no reason Kraft can’t join Brock Bowers, Trey Mc Bride and others in the next crop of upper-echelon tight ends. Here for the wholesome Tucker Kraft content ? pic. twitter. com/Ycz Fgg URk C — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 12, 2025 It sounds like his teammates agree. “I’m over here pissed I ain’t take him in fantasy, ” Parsons said. “That’s the type of s–t I’m talking about, but he’s playing terrific, bro … I think he’s bound to have a breakout year. ” Advertisement Gary sounded insulted when asked if Kraft can be one of the NFL’s best tight ends. “Is he not? ” Gary retorted. “In my eyes, I feel like he is. I tell him he’s the best in the league. I don’t care what anybody else is talking about. As long as he has that mindset and keeps playing how he’s playing, the sky’s the limit for him in this offense. ” Mc Kinney left no doubt when classifying Kraft’s standing. “I think he’s one of the best that we have in this league, ” the reigning first-team All-Pro said. “Today’s game pretty much showed it, but he does this, to me, every game … he can go out there and he can play as a receiver. He blocks his ass off. It’s really nothing that he doesn’t really do. He does everything well. He’s an all-around tight end. ” So maybe he hasn’t established himself as a premier ping-pong player, but Kraft has done so at his day job. And he doesn’t plan to quit anytime soon. Those who watch the Packers routinely saw it in glimpses last year. His teammates have seen it every day. And on Thursday, a national audience saw why the kid not far removed from FCS competition is an integral reason why the Packers might have a shot this season to bring the Lombardi Trophy home. (Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Matt Schneidman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Green Bay Packers. He is a proud alum of The Daily Orange student newspaper at Syracuse University. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattschneidman