NFL insider: Luke Musgrave could be in top 10 tight end discussion by end of year
Luke Musgrave had an excellent rookie season for the Green Bay Packers in 2023. The former Oregon State star caught 34 passes for 352 yards and was a consistent option for quarterback Jordan Love.
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler expects Musgrave to take his game to another level in 2024 and potentially develop into one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
“Luke Musgrave, he’s certainly got the most upside out of any of the tight ends, because he’s a super athlete. Jordan Love loves throwing his way,” Fowler said Saturday morning on SportsCenter.
Musgrave is one of many options for Love in the passing game as the Packers have put a ton of weapons around their young quarterback.
Green Bay had seven players finish with at least 28 receptions last season, led by Jayden Reed, who had 64 catches for 793 yards and eight scores.
The amount of pass catchers on the Packers’ roster is likely to keep Musgrave’s numbers down, but when his number is called, he consistently makes plays.
“They have, in Green Bay, a lot of options. They’ve got four or five receivers that they can go to. So that kind of waters down the volume share,” Fowler said. “But this is a tight end that many feel that by the end of this coming year will be in that top 10 tight end discussion.”
ESPN recently released its list of top tight ends for fantasy football ppr leagues for the 2024 season. Luke Musgrave is ranked No. 25 on the list, which Fowler believes is too low.
With that said, the weapons in Green Bay are a big reason why Musgrave isn’t ranked higher.
“The problem is Green Bay’s got so many options to go to, but I would play the under on that, for sure,” Fowler said.
Green Bay Packers hoping to reach new deal with Jordan Love before training camp
The Green Bay Packers are in a bit of a unique spot with their young quarterback, Jordan Love, who is looking to cash in with a massive extension after one half-season of elite play.
Love sat behind Aaron Rodgers for the first three seasons of his career and then got the starting nod in year four, 2023. His rookie deal would expire after the ’23 season and a fifth-year option sat Green Bay’s lap worth north of $20 million. Well, Love had yet to start a game as of last May and that was a lofty figure, so the sides settled on a one-year extension for roughly $11 million with the potential of $22 million in incentives for the ’24 season.
Now, though, Love has played and performed very well down the stretch, particularly in the playoffs. Of course, he’d like to be paid accordingly, meaning a massive extension in the ballpark of Trevor Lawrence, a quarterback certainly a rung below Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow who still got similar money as those guys, resetting the market for his tier of quarterback.
According to Jeremy Fowler, who reported on the Love contract talks on SportsCenter Saturday morning, that late-season surge changed the Packers QB’s market, especially given the figures some other quarterbacks have received (cough, cough, Trevor Lawrence).
“This one’s interesting, because really, just the one season, small sample size, got hot late in the year, second half was one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Fowler said, noting that those couple months of play completely redefined Love’s value across the league.
“The tricky thing now is I’ve talked to a lot of scouts and executives (who) believe he’s now a top 10 passer in the entire NFL,” Fowler added. “Just a small sample and that costs a lot of money as we know.”