Love-Musgrave connection has to improve for the Packers offense to grow
It was a third and seven, first drive of the first preseason game in the Jordan Love era as a full-time starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave ran a crossing route, and Love missed him in the middle of the field, forcing the Packers to punt. It was just […]
It was a third and seven, first drive of the first preseason game in the Jordan Love era as a full-time starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave ran a crossing route, and Love missed him in the middle of the field, forcing the Packers to punt. It was just one play in a meaningless game, but Love and Musgrave are yet to find a groove.
"We've just got to keep getting him the ball, keep feeding him, and see what he can do after the catch," Love said of Musgrave after that Cincinnati Bengals preseason game. "He's going to be a really good player."
And, in fact, Musgrave has been promising. Tight end is one of the most difficult positions to transition from college to the NFL, and he's already made an impact. Musgrave is second among rookie tight ends in receiving yards, receptions, and targets — Detroit Lions' Sam LaPorta leads the group in every category.
But that doesn't mean it's all perfect. The connection between Jordan Love and Musgrave has left meat on the bone. Sometimes, with misfires from the quarterback. Sometimes, with the tight end not exactly where he should be.
Even when the connection happens, it's not always as effective as it could be. The best example was in week 1, when Jordan Love fumbled the snap. He recovered the ball and was still able to find Musgrave on a tight end leak, but the rookie didn't keep his balance to reach the end zone.
Since wide receiver Christian Watson came back from his hamstring injury, the Packers have used Luke Musgrave primarily as an underneath target, and that hasn't worked as well. Over the first three games of the season, the tight end had 11 receptions for 124 yards — 11.27 yards per reception.
In these last two games, he had seven receptions for 35 yards — five yards per reception. And while Watson is an impressive deep threat, the offense hasn't been nearly as effective. They need to go back to the initial usage of Musgrave, because his athleticism is a big mismatch against most defenses.
Before the season, head coach Matt LaFleur highlighted how special Musgrave can be.
"He continues to show progress every day and, certainly, he does have an elite trait that he can flat fly," LaFleur said. "He's a big, long target. We're really excited about him and the progress he's made up to this point and we've got to continue to push him."
This is a Packers team still learning. Each and every receiving weapon is a rookie or a second-year player. Mistakes will be made, but there will also be plenty of opportunities to learn and grow on the field.
"There's no substitute for doing," Packers tight ends coach John Dunn stressed during OTAs. "We can teach them, they're in the classroom, they do a great job learning, they're smart guys, but what we're going through now and what we'll go through in training camp is the ultimate teacher."
And that becomes clear with the team's target share. Musgrave is third on the team in targets, receiving yards, and receiving first downs, second in receptions, and first in yards after the catch.
Now imagine what he can be when his connection with Jordan Love is stronger.
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