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Green Bay Packers: Let’s Keep an Eye on Josh Whyle Heading Into 2026
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- Green Bay Packers: Let’s Keep an Eye on Josh Whyle Heading Into 2026
(© Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images)
When the topic of tight ends comes up as it relates to the Green Bay Packers , there's only one name that will consistently matter.
That's the name of Tucker Kraft , who was trending to have an All-Pro season in 2025 before he suffered a torn ACL in November.
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The good news for the Packers is that the calendar has turned to 2026, and they're earnestly preparing for the 2026 season. Even better is the fact that Kraft is expected to be ready to go for the start of the 2026 season. He's not even planning to be on a pitch count.
That's great for the Packers because Kraft has the talent to be one of the best tight ends in the NFL, if not the best. At the very least, he should be mentioned with the George Kittles of the league.
You're only as good as your depth in the NFL, though. At least that's true if you want to make a Super Bowl run.
And in that way, the Packers do have some question marks. Traditionally, one would think that having a TE2 who was actually drafted ahead of Kraft in Luke Musgrave would be a good thing.
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The issue is that Musgrave has been unable to show any consistency in his first three NFL seasons. He's caught just 65 passes for 649 yards and a touchdown in 35 games. For comparison's sake, Kraft had 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns in just eight games played last season.
There's a night-and-day difference between the two players when it comes to ability. To make things worse, Musgrave has been dealing with injury issues during OTAs and minicamp.
That's bad news for Musgrave as he tries to make something of his NFL career. In the meantime, the extra reps are good news for TE3 Josh Whyle , a former fifth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans who was brought up off the practice squad last season by the Packers when Kraft was injured.
According to head coach Matt LaFleur, Whyle is making the most of Musgrave's absence.
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"He's shown a lot of good things," LaFleur said of Whyle ( h/t Lombardi Ave ). "I've always really liked Josh's versatility in terms of being a movable piece, but he's gotten some opportunities on things that maybe Luke would have done. Like yesterday, he caught a little post route over the middle and made a great play. The more reps he's getting, I think the better he's getting."
The Titans selected Whyle with the 147th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati . As a rookie, he played in 11 games and started three while catching nine passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. In 2024, he played in all 17 games for the Titans as a backup and caught 28 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown.
Heading into the 2025 season, Whyle was cut by the Titans. The Packers put him on their practice squad and he ended up playing in eight games (one start) while catching five passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Nobody is going to mistake Whyle for an up-and-coming star at tight end, but he's a big body at 6-foot-7, 248 pounds and he's shown an ability to catch the ball and be a target in the red zone.
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If Musgrave can't step up and take the opportunities given to him, perhaps Whyle will be able to. At the very least, the best ability int he NFL is availability, and that's something that Whyle that Musgrave lacks.
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