Week 3 kicks off as the Green Bay Packers face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. The Packers are 1-1 through their first two games and are looking to pick things up both sides of the ball after a couple of fairly uninspiring games. On offense, Tucker Kraft getting more comfortable after returning from a major injury could make a huge difference in unlocking this attack moving forward.
Here’s the best player prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tucker Kraft in Packers vs. Falcons on Thursday Night Football.
Tucker Kraft best receiving yards pick vs. Falcons
Last season, Kraft truly broke out when on the field and was on pace for the best year of his career by far. He caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns over the course of just eight games, putting his unique ability to create plays after the catch on display as an emerging star at tight end. However, his campaign was cut short by a torn ACL that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Now, Kraft is back in the saddle as the top name on the Packers’ depth chart at his position. Simply getting onto the field this early can be considered a win following the injury, so playing 66% and then 98% of the team’s offensive snaps over his first two games back is extremely impressive. His receiving usage hasn’t been as solid, though. In Week 1, he caught three of his six targets for 65 yards – a really nice debut coming off the ACL. In Week 2, however, he saw just three targets and caught two of them for 15 yards. That adds up to five grabs for 80 yards over the first pair of games in 2026.
Should Kraft continue to work his way back to full strength over time? Yes, especially since players typically aren’t there usual selves upon their return to play and often take several weeks to a year to work back into form. There’s not a reason to panic about his lack of production, and in fact, he could finally break out this week.
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Kraft’s player props at O/U 3.5 receptions and 45.5 receiving yards. The Packers are also a 5.5-point favorite with the game total set at 42.5 points.
I do believe that Green Bay will lean toward a pass-heavy game script this Thursday in Atlanta. The reasoning for that is twofold – the Packers are averaging just 63.5 rushing yards per game through their first two outings, worst in the NFL, and the Falcons’ defense ranks first in rushing yards allowed and second in defensive EPA/rush thus far. The sample size is small, but it’s enough to project more volume through the air from quarterback Jordan Love, especially with top cornerback A.J. Terrell headed to IR for the Falcons.
Those factors should benefit Kraft in the receiving game. He’s run 51 routes through two games and saw his route rate jump up to 84% from the 48% seen in Week 1. That’s very encouraging for receiving production, and while the injury to Jayden Reed does mean the Packers are down one of their three notable wideouts, his absence also means there are a couple of extra targets to go around. While headlines about Kraft seeing increased blocking usage flew around this week, those seem to just be noise – the only reason he almost saw snaps as an offensive lineman in Week 2 is because Green Bay lost a couple of trench players to injury and two more depth linemen were inactive.
We know that Kraft can perform as one of the best receiving tight ends in the league; the situation is right this week for him to get a bump in usage with Reed out for a matchup that favors the past. Over 45.5 receiving yards feels like a real possibility given his ability to create yards after the catch, leading the position in YAC since 2023. Through two games, Atlanta has also allowed the third-most fantasy pints to tight ends this year. Even if he doesn’t get five or more receptions, Kraft can still exceed this line.
