What Scouts Said About Luke Musgrave

The Packers selected Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave with pick 42 in the 2023 NFL Draft. Like Lukas Van Ness, Musgrave is another big, athletic prospect who may need some development time to reach his full potential. Here’s what experts had to say about Musgrave.

Strengths

Dane Brugler, The Athletic — Tall, limber frame with a massive wingspan ... impressive one-step acceleration to quickly reach his top-end speed (his 1.54-second 10-yard split led all tight ends at the combine) ... loose flexibility in his lower body and hips to stem defenders and create a step of separation out of his breaks ... races to his landmarks as a route runner or works back to help give his quarterback a target ... above-average hand-eye coordination to fluidly spear the football away from his body mid-motion ... stretches out his stride to be a RAC playmaker in the open field ... physical hands as a blocker and at the top of routes, knocking defenders off-balance ...efficiently sets a foundation as a blocker and fires into his target ... excellent blocking leverage (stationary and on the move) and stays balanced through contact ... has worked hard to improve his technical approach as a blocker ... his coaches call him a “team-first guy” and “coach pleaser” who doesn’t want to let down his teammates ... has special teams experience, including a blocked punt as a junior, which he returned for a touchdown.

Pro Football Focus - Elite speed for the tight end position. Broke 20 m.p.h at the Senior Bowl. Lab-built frame with large hands. Linebackers and safeties just sort of fall off him in coverage. Contact doesn't seem to phase him. Able to get off press because of it.

Lance Zerlein, NFL.com – Oily hips and feet. Eludes coverage contact with smooth transitions of tempo. Routes gain momentum with burst through turns to mismatch linebackers. Gets head around to track vertical throws without losing a step. Footwork is controlled and patient fitting his run blocks. Strikes with inside hands and clean, upward punch. Makes good effort to sustain at point of attack or in space.

Damian Parson, Draft Network — An exciting blend of size and athleticism. Developmental upside. Seam and red-zone threat

NFL Draft Buzz — Protypical size for the position and athleticism - standing 6-6 and weighing in at 255lbs, and having NFL bloodlines - his uncle was a pro QB in the 1990s. Made Bruce Feldman's Freak's List - ranked #27. He wrote "He also excelled at lacrosse and in alpine skiing. This offseason, Musgrave vertical-jumped 36 1/2 inches, broad-jumped 10-1 3/4, clocked a 4.51 40, and did 4.21 in the pro agility — all terrific numbers for a tight end this size." He’s a fluid athlete with excellent short-area quickness; Musgrave should be able to create separation, and he has the straight-line speed to threaten down the seam. His lack of college production has been much more a result of bad luck rather than poor play - 2020 was limited due to COVID and 2022 was impacted by a serious knee injury which limited him to just two games. Played in a very inconsistent offense and was misused resulting in underwhelming production. Musgrave also has value as a catch-and-run threat, running hard and consistently picking up yards after the catch.

Looks great in contested catch situations - shields the ball and dominates DBs at the catch point with his elite height. First tight end at the Senior Bowl to break the 20 MPH in practice drills

Soft, reliable hands center the big target for quarterbacks. He Shields the defense and will let the ball into his pads to protect it when about to absorb a big hit over the middle. Runs precise routes with mostly crisp cuts. Very difficult to cover gets separation consistently. He combines good speed with his size, and he accelerates off the line better than most big receivers. Musgrave plays with smoothness and balance, and he shows a knack for setting up defensive backs

Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network — Elastic athleticism is one of Musgrave’s defining traits, and it’s something teams will be able to build around. But as an added bonus, the Oregon State TE also shows flashes of superb catching instincts to the fold. Musgrave instinctively elevates and extends beyond his frame for high-difficulty passes and is very smooth on adjustments in stride upfield.

Bleacher Report — Tall, lean build with long arms. Great build for the position. Positional flexibility. Can play in-line Y, wing and wide receiver alignments. Great top-end speed. Excels on vertical and horizontal stretches. Good flexibility and explosiveness for his size.Good route-runner, even from wide receiver alignments. Smooth mover with quick, light feet. Above-average ball-tracking skills and hands to locate ball away from his frame. Good blocker. Plays with ample strength, good leverage and proper hand placement.

Greg Cosell, The 33rd Team — Outstanding size, with light feet and excellent overall athletic movement; Loose hips with easy fluid movement. Lined up in different locations in OSU’s multiple personnel offense, including significant snaps as an attached TE. Speed and route running ability to line up at boundary x on the backside of trips; Multiple splits at boundary x.

Smooth release and route runner, with both short-area quickness, burst and change-of-speed acceleration. Route running gait and quickness looks like WR; Smooth off the LOS, with both route and separation quickness. Extensive experience as attached TE and run blocker in a conventional I-back run game with POA blocks. Showed commitment to run blocking; Controlled efficient movement with leverage; Strong effort to sustain.

Weaknesses

Dane Brugler, The Athletic — Unnecessarily relies on his body at times to finish catches (2-to-9 touchdown-to-drop ratio in his career) ... will play in overdrive at the catch point, leading to drops ... inconsistent results on tight-windowed throws and when finishing through contact ... urgent route runner but would benefit from improved tempo... gets his weight too far out in front as a blocker and can be tossed ... his angles in the run game can be more consistent ... medical feedback will be important after he missed the final 11 games of his final season because of a left knee injury (September 2022); also missed the final two games of his senior year in high school because of a concussion (November 2018).

Pro Football Focus — Really raw as a route runner. Looks like he's counting steps to get to his breaks. Not shifty after the catch — two broken tackles over his entire career. Doesn't utilize his lower half as a run-blocker. Will stop feet to engage.

Lance Zerlein, NFL.com — Needs to pair his feet with his hands in run game. Could use a little more strength at the point of attack. Average hand fighting inside the route. Will drift through intermediate cuts at times. Modest catch radius on throws outside the frame.

Damian Parson, Draft Network — Limited production and starts (13). Play strength. Separation.

NFL Draft Buzz — He’s a huge work in progress as a blocker, often playing too high and getting overpowered at the point of attack. Massively inexperienced has had only a single season where he's been on the field for more than 350 snaps (in 2021) and in his best season he still made just 304 yards through the air. Not a powerful blocker - and doesn't drive defenders backward as you expect for a man of his size Musgrave doesn't create the kind of separation you would hope given his elite timed speed. He’ll also have to adjust to getting his head around to locate the ball on shorter routes over the middle.

Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network — While Musgrave flashes excellent catching instincts, body control, and hands at the catch point, his hand technique can be more consistent. Albeit in a small sample size, he has one of the higher drop rates among tight ends. He’ll sometimes clap-catch the ball, and he can be more coordinated flowing to the ball and maintaining diamond technique with his hands. Play strength after the catch and as a blocker also comes up as a concern for Musgrave, who’s notably lean for his size. His stiff-arms aren’t often strong enough to pry through solo tackles, and he doesn’t have exceptional mass or leg churn through contact, consistently going down on the first attempt.

Bleacher Report — Poor ability to fight through contact on routes. Gets rerouted too easily and often. Below-average energy and physicality at contested catch points. Allows defenders to fight back into position. Hands tend to waver in traffic.

Greg Cosell, The 33rd Team — Needs to become a little stronger and more powerful as a base and drive blocker at the POA in the run game. Must become better at sustaining and finishing blocks in the run game; Strong initial contact, but then falls off. Not shifty or elusive in his movement as a route runner; Much more straight line and linear in his movement. Hands inconsistent at times with some routine drops; Also showed tendency to cradle the ball into his chest. Lean frame needing more strength to better allow him to catch through contact and make contested catches.

Overall

Dane Brugler, The Athletic — A two-year starter at Oregon State, Musgrave was a Y tight end in offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren’s run-heavy scheme, lining up both inline and in the slot. After two seasons as a backup behind two future NFL players Noah Togiai (Philadelphia Eagles) and Teagan Quitoriano (Houston Texans), he became a starter as a junior, but his targets were limited in the Beavers’ run-first offense and he missed almost all his senior year because of injury. An impressive size/speed athlete, Musgrave runs like a gazelle (elite high school track numbers for his size), and his lacrosse and skiing backgrounds translate to football with his core strength and hip fluidity as both a pass catcher and blocker. He blocks with outstanding body control and leverage to be a physical edge setter and engage defenders at the second and third levels, although he still needs to improve his sustain skills and steadiness as a pass blocker (only 5.9 percent of his career snaps on offense came in pass protection). Overall, Musgrave must continue to build up his football resume and overall consistency, but he is a high-level athlete with the route running and blocking talent to be a productive starting combo tight end in the NFL. He should be the first-ever Oregon State tight end drafted in the top 100 picks.

Pro Football Focus — Musgrave is a tremendous athlete, but his collegiate career has been littered with bad luck that has kept evaluators from seeing his best for any length of time. His four seasons in college included the Covid-19-shortened 2020 season, where he caught 12 passes for 142 yards, and this past season, where a knee injury ended his year after just two games. The start of the 2022 season highlights why NFL teams will like him, though, as he averaged 3.38 yards per route run while totaling 89 and 80 yards in the first two games of the season.

Todd McShay, ESPN — Musgrave has the frame to make contested catches, transitions upfield smoothly and shows a good burst after the catch. He isn't a polished route runner on tape, but he flashed at the Senior Bowl and has the talent to continue to improve in that area. Musgrave shows the ability to get good initial pop as a blocker but needs to get stronger and improve his hand placement. He played in only three games last season while dealing with injuries.

Lance Zerlein, NFL.com — Between the abbreviated 2020 season and an injury-shortened 2022 campaign, Musgrave’s snaps have been somewhat limited, but it’s easy to like what he’s put on tape. His route running harkens back to his slalom days with nimble feet and smooth hips helping to generate rhythm and separation in and out of breaks. He needs a little more bulk for combat in the trenches, but he offers what evaluators are looking for in technique, strain and demeanor. Musgrave has starter potential and should gain a coveted slot on draft boards from teams looking to add versatility to their 12 personnel (two tight ends) packages.

Damian Parson, Draft Network — Musgrave is a tremendous athlete and should test well this draft season. I do not see an overly explosive player on the field. He gallops and needs free releases to hit that top gear. When faced with physical coverage and resistance, Musgrave struggled to create separation on his routes. He does not play through contact well enough during his route stems. He can be impeded and slowed down if defenders can get their hands on him early in routes. His average play strength shows up in blocking sequences.

Musgrave is not a uber-physical blocker—do not expect him to displace defenders. Also, he attempts to engage blocks with high hips and pad level. This limits his overall effectiveness as a man or gap scheme run blocker. Although Musgrave is versatile to align inline or detached, I believe his best reps come when he is in-line.

As an NFL tight end, I envision Musgrave as a TE2 early in his career with the potential to develop into a starter. His value in the red zone is enticing. He can operate out of 12-personnel packages with two tight ends that can either use the pass or run game to move the football. Musgrave can stand to improve his play strength and defeat physical coverage quicker since time in the NFL is shorter for quarterbacks.

NFL Draft Buzz — Luke Musgrave is a super polarizing prospect and is a classic potential vs production evaluation. There is no doubt Musgrave has huge potential, he has ideal height, long arms, soft hands, and elite speed, he, however, has never produced at a high level with any consistency - which for many many scouts raises serious red flags especially drafting him early.

Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network — Musgrave can be an alignment-versatile contributor right away in the NFL. He’s better off as a rotational seam threat early on, but he has impact starter potential at his maximum. Musgrave’s tools are rare and tailor-made for the passing attacks we see today.

Bleacher Report — In all, Musgrave's height, athletic tools and baseline blocking skills give him everything he needs to be a weapon. He can succeed as a field-stretching tight end who doesn't have to leave the field on run downs, which gives him access to aggressive play-action concepts to make use of his speed. He will need to add weight and muscle in order to handle himself in traffic and over the middle of the field, however. Hopefully a year or two in an NFL weight training system can do the trick and unlock his potential.

Greg Cosell, The 33rd Team — Musgrave is one of the best TE prospects in the 2023 draft class primarily due to his ability as a receiver, although his extensive experience as an attached blocker in the run game - while improvement is needed - positions him well to be a complete multi-dimensional player at the next level. Musgrave has excellent size and is a smooth athlete, which consistently showed up in his releases off the LOS and his route running, in which he showed both quickness through his vertical stem and separation quickness at the top of his stem.

Where Musgrave ranked on evaluators’ big boards

Dane Brugler, The Athletic - 29

Pro Football Focus - 49

NFL Mock Draft Database Consensus Big Board - 50

ESPN (overall) - 31

Todd McShay, ESPN - 31

NFL Draft Buzz - 47

Bleacher Report - 59

The 33rd Team - 51