Early Attrition Should Open Up the Game Plan For the Rest Of Green Bay's Young Pass-Catchers

If you were to tell a Green Bay Packers fan earlier in the offseason what the state of the franchise is heading into Week 3, they would hardly believe you. Last year, they were putting the finishing touches on a narrative of being good, but not great, when the future champion Philadelphia Eagles eliminated them from the playoffs.

Eight months and one Micah Parsons later, Green Bay has the best title odds of any NFC team, and trails only the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills after decisively knocking off conference contenders in the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. There were two clear headlines after a successful Thursday night at Lambeau: The defense is legit, and we might have just watched Tucker Kraft officially break out on the national stage.

Kraft has earned young George Kittle comparisons since the beginning of his career. Those have only intensified as he has made a big-time impression on national audiences. The Packers are charging forward with arguably the best defense in the league and a pretty damn good offense, which they established last season.

Finally, it appears that all the pieces are truly in place. They have playmakers on both sides of the ball, a reliable kicker, a phenomenal play caller, and a franchise quarterback. However, over a long season, this team is bound to face its fair share of adversity. Following Thursday’s win, the first couple of doses started to reveal themselves.

Standout receiver and general offensive weapon Jayden Reed suffered a broken collarbone that will sideline him for about eight weeks. He suffered the injury on a gorgeous touchdown catch down the field that, quite unfortunately, was negated for holding.

The penalty took that play off the board, but the injury remained. Reed was already playing through a Jones Fracture and underwent successful surgery on the collarbone and his foot. The only silver lining here is that the time off allowed him to get both surgeries, allowing him to return at full strength for what we can pretty confidently say will be a playoff run down the stretch.

Then, Kraft left practice with a knee injury on Thursday. It sent shivers down every fan’s spine, particularly as the third-year tight end out of South Dakota State was beginning to scrape his ceiling. Fortunately, the tests came out okay, and the Packers have listed him as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Cleveland.

Still, given how late in the week he suffered the injury, it makes sense for the traditionally cautious Packers medical staff to play it safe. Green Bay opened as 6.5-point favorites, but that number ballooned past the touchdown mark after it became clear that Week 1 was no fluke. They are currently favored by 8.5 against a disheveled Cleveland Browns team that boasts Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, but not much else.

Reed’s absence, Kraft’s hindrance, and with two more weeks before Christian Watson is eligible to return from the torn ACL that he suffered last season, open up a plethora of opportunities for the rest of the young pass-catching talent.

Luke Musgrave immediately comes to mind. The Packers took Musgrave out of Oregon State on the same day as Kraft, but a round earlier. His draft capital gave him the early edge in the pecking order, but with the position a desperate need, general manager Brian Gutekunst had hedged his bets for a reason.

Musgrave made some impact plays in his rookie season, including a long touchdown catch in the young team’s signature win in Dallas, but his late-season injury gave Kraft the inside track, and he never gave it back. Musgrave is a tall, lanky Y who profiles as a downfield threat on seam routes and elsewhere downfield. If Kraft is unable to go, or even if he is, we will likely see Musgrave get the chance to showcase his development with significant usage and a snap bump.

Stud rookie Matthew Golden is next on this list. Golden's stock was booming throughout training camp, but fantasy owners are fuming early on after the Texas product has barely altered the box score. However, intent watchers probably noticed how close he was on two potential long touchdown receptions.

Love took accountability for the near misses, and it feels like only a matter of time until the two get on the same page. With No. 11, the offense’s most dynamic player, out of the lineup, look for Golden to see most of both the manufactured touches and the downfield shots. LaFleur will be looking to make “Agent 0” a big part of the game plan, and he’s had an extra few days in the lab after playing on the short week.

The third beneficiary of the early attrition is Dontayvion Wicks. We are just about 12 months removed from this guy getting steamed up the fantasy rankings big time, with the thesis being that his skill would separate him from a crowded Packers receiving group. His struggles, with drops and otherwise, have largely taken him off people’s boards heading into Year 3.

However, he was a big part of LaFleur’s “first 15” play script on Thursday and will undoubtedly be a factor out of the slot. Injuries are an unfortunate part of football, and it has felt disproportionately true for the Packers. But they also present an opportunity to get the ball in the hands of other exciting young talent, which Green Bay has no shortage of. If I had to call it, I’d say this is the Golden soft breakout game, but I wouldn’t be surprised at any of the other answers, either.