Two picks from the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 draft class were highlighted by Pro Football Focus as top breakout candidates at their positions heading into the 2024 season.
PFF’s Gordon McGuiness recently prepared his own 2024 All-Breakout Teamand tight end Luke Musgrave and defensive lineman Karl Brooks made the list.
Both Musgrave and Brooks have shown they can change teams. To make the leap as sophomores, the pair will need to go from dazzling rookies to consistent producers as sophomores.
Musgrave’s solid debut season was cut brief by a solemn kidney injury he suffered in early November. He returned overdue in the season and caught a touchdown pass in the Packers’ upset playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Including the season, Musgrave caught 40 passes for 418 yards and two scores over 53 targets and 13 games.
McGuiness on Musgrave: “A case can be made here for the Packers second-year tight end. Musgrave dropped just one of the 41 catchable passes thrown to him in 2023 and finished his rookie season with three straight PFF grades above 70.0.”
Brooks, a sixth-round pick out of Bowling Green, has completed 30 pressures in 309 pass rushes, including the postseason. He felt multiple pressures in 10 games, including five during the Packers’ Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions, four during their divisional-round loss in San Francisco and three during their Week 18 victory over the Chicago Bears.
McGuiness on Brooks: “If there is a question about Brooks’ game heading into his second NFL season, the question is whether he can become a full-time player or whether he is simply a pass-rush specialist. However, given how good he was in that role as a rookie, that may not matter. He played in seven games in 2023 and has a PFF grade of over 70.0.”
Musgrave, a 6-6 offensive tackle with exceptional speed, will be a top target in the Packers passing game. Brooks, a speedy and talented forward, should be given even more opportunities to disrupt the recent 4-3 base defense.
