Tyler Davis’ season-ending injury has opened the door for Austin Allen at tight end for the Packers, but Brian Gutekunst will be keeping an eye on the tight end market.
With Tyler Davis out for the season with an ACL injury, Austin Allen is going to have more opportunities to try and earn a roster spot, but the Packers will also be keeping a close eye on the tight end market once final roster cuts are made.
Technically, the Packers have just three healthy tight ends on the roster currently in Allen, Luke Musgrave, and Tucker Kraft. Josiah Deguara and Henry Pearson were listed on the unoffical depth chart as fullbacks. In Davis’ absence the last week, we’ve seen Deguara lining up more so as a traditional tight end in-line, but if the Packers want to keep him primarily in that fullback role, they’ll either need Allen to seize the opportunity or make an outside addition.
Davis had been the best blocking tight end in training camp prior to his injury. Now without him on the field, Musgrave’s early impact coming in the passing game, along with many rookie tight ends struggling as blockers, Allen’s impact is going to have to come specifically in that aspect of the game.
“He’s a bit of a different athlete,” said Brian Gutekunst on Friday, “but obviously he’s got great size. He’s more your Y-type of blocker. But he’s done a nice job in camp and he’s going to get the opportunity to fill that role.”
Allen stands 6-8 tall and went undrafted out of Nebraska in 2022. His role in this offense isn’t going to come in the passing game, but his shear size makes him a difficult matchup for many as he will use that to his advantage to out physical defenders on the practice field this summer.
As a blocker during his final college season in 2021, Allen ranked 35th among all tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking and pass-blocking grades. During the Packers first preseason game against Cincinnati, it was Allen who threw a key block on Emanuel Wilson’s 80-yard touchdown run.
“Austin has done a nice job,” said Matt LaFleur following the Bengals’ game. “I noticed him a little bit on teams as well. One play that stood out to me was we ran an inside zone with a cross zip, where he did a really nice job of throwing his face on the defenders leg, coming across the formation and cutting him down. He’s going to get more opportunities, especially with TD being out and he’s going to have to take advantage of those.”
Also an important aspect for Allen in making a potential roster push is going to be contributing on special teams. This is the case for just about every player on the back end of the depth chart fighting for a roster spot, but the loss of Davis for the season is also going to be felt in that phase of the game as well. In 2022, Davis led the team in special teams snaps, playing on a variety of phases and recorded double-digit tackles.
“Austin has done some good things for us,” said special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. “Rushing the punter, he’s played field goal protection for us on the wing, and makes us a little bit expanded at that position. And he’s done some good things for us on the kick return and he’ll play a lot, hopefully in the kicking game come tomorrow (verse New England).”
Over the final two weeks of training camp practices, which include two preseason games, Allen will have the opportunity to showcase what he can do. However, there is also the very real possibility that the Packers’ third tight end — or fourth depending on how you classify Deguara — is not on the roster yet.
With the current state of the tight end free agent market incredibly thin, Green Bay is a prime candidate to play the waiting game for the time being, and make an addition once final roster cutdowns around the league take place. It was at that time last summer that the Packers were able to sign Rudy Ford, who contributed both on special teams and defense in 2022.
“I like our group as it is right now,” said Gutekunst. “But that’s certainly something we will look at as we get to the cutdown day and beyond. Losing Tyler that’s a big loss for us because of all the things he did on offense and special teams, and he was a bit of a core leader for us.
“Somebody is going to have fill that role,” Gutekunst added. “I think everybody is going to have to pick it up a little bit to get beyond that, but I think we will always be looking at that spot.”
With the additions of Musgrave and Kraft, there is a lot of potential in this Green Bay tight end room. Musgrave’s athleticism and Kraft’s well-rounded skill set give this Packers offense two elements they didn’t have last season. However, there is also a lot of unknowns at this position as well, given the steep learning curve that comes with first year players at this position, along with the lack of experienced depth as well.
