There’s plenty of talk about the Brock Bowers and Trey McBrides of the fantasy football world, but another young tight end has been flying under the radar despite a proven track record of success and some very solid production this season. We’re talking about Tucker Kraft, the Packers’ top option at the position.
He had a quiet Week 9, but the overall sample this season suggests that Kraft is still one of the better options at TE in the game. Is he a buy-low target in fantasy football this week?
Is Tucker Kraft a buy-low target in fantasy?
Last season, Tucker Kraft truly burst onto the scene. He averaged 14.7 FPPG in PPR formats and caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns before an ACL tear ended his season prematurely after just eight games. He spent the offseason rehabbing and was healthy in time for Week 1 of the 2026 campaign, and while his numbers aren’t quite as impressive, he certainly hasn’t been bad. The 26-year-old averages 10.0 FPPG this year through nine appearances, catching 36 balls for 351 yards and three scores. He’s taken a step back, but that was to be expected following his injury.
The good news is that Kraft has actually been much better for fantasy football after working himself back into form. In the first three weeks of the campaign, he caught no more than four passes in any game and recorded no more than 9.5 PPR points in a single contest. However, he hauled in his first touchdown of the season in Week 4, and since then, he’s reached double-digit PPR points in four of his six appearances with highs of 14.8, 16.5 and 17.3 points. While he was held to only one reception in Week 9, the outlook for the tight end has largely trended upward.
The offensive environment in Green Bay this season is part of what has made this possible. The Packers didn’t have running back Josh Jacobs available for the first six weeks, and even since returning, he and the run game haven’t exactly thrived. As such, the team sits second in PROE at 6.7% and quarterback Jordan Love is dropping back 40.0 times per game, eighth most of any quarterback. The passing attack is consolidated largely around wideouts Matthew Golden and Christian Watson, but Kraft essentially gets whatever is left over in a pass-happy game script most weeks.
Kraft isn’t the version of himself we saw dominate after the catch last season, producing just 5.2 YAC/REC compared to a ridiculous 10.8 YAC/REC that paced all tight ends while he was healthy. That’s not shocking given his return from injury, but he’s still averaging nearly six targets per game and has a decent 15.2% target share. Moreover, he’s simply on the field more than most tight ends with an 82.9% snap share and a 67.5% route share, running the 10th-most routes per game of any player at the position. He’s also getting opportunities in the red zone, earning nine targets inside the 20-yard line thus far.
Now, the matchup in the Packers’ upcoming Week 10 game is a brutal one as they face the Vikings’ elite defense, which is arguably the best in the NFL. Minnesota’s defense leads the league in passing success rate and EPA/dropback allowed, also conceding the fourth-lowest explosive pass rate to opponents. It’s not likely that many of Green Bay’s pass-catchers put up big numbers this week, but even still, Kraft remains an excellent target to trade for in fantasy football after last week’s down game – or you can wait unil after this game if you believe he has another paltry outing.
At the end of the day, there’s a lot to like about Kraft’s profile, even as he continues to get back up to speed and chase the version of himself we saw make plays after the catch last season. If it’s any consolation, he’s averaging 11.8 FPPG since Week 4 once he began to look more like himself, good for seventh among all tight ends. We also know that he’s an established red-zone target in a pass-happy Packers offense, and it doesn’t seem the team will move away from that approach after empowering Love to play as a true gunslinger.
If you can pry Kraft away from an opposing manager for cheap, he makes for a very compelling TE1. He should only continue get more comfortable with time now that he has half a season under his belt post-injury.
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