KANSAS CITY — South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft was selected in the third round of the National Football League Draft by the Green Bay Packers Friday night.
Kraft was the 15th pick of the third round and the 78th overall selection. He became the 33rd Jackrabbit to be taken in the NFL Draft and the fifth in the last six seasons. Three of SDSU’s last seven players to be drafted have been tight ends as Kraft joins Steven Heiden (1999) and Dallas Goedert (2018) in the position group.
In three seasons with the Jackrabbits, the Timber Lake native caught 99 passes for 1,218 yards and nine touchdowns. His best season was the 2021 campaign in which he tallied 65 receptions for 780 yards and six scores.
SDSU DRAFT HISTORY
1939: Bob Riddell, end, Philadelphia (17)
1951: Harry Gibbons, back, Chicago (20)
1951: Dick Peot, tackle, Detroit (28)
1953: Pete Retzlaff, back, Detroit (22)
1955: Jerry Welch, back, Baltimore (22)
1956: Dick Klawitter, center, Chicago (8)
1957: Harwood Hoeft, end, Baltimore (24)
1958: Wayne Haensel, tackle, New York Giants (25)
1959: LeRoy Bergan, tackle, Baltimore (17)
1961: Leland Bondhus, tackle, Green Bay (19)
1962: Joe Thorne, back, Green Bay (12)
1962: Ron Frank, tackle, San Francisco (16)
1964: Wayne Rasmussen, back, Detroit (9)
1966: Ron Meyer, quarterback, Chicago (7)
1966: Ed Maras, end, Green Bay (20)
1970: Tim Roth, defensive end, Oakland (16)
1973: Phil Engle, tackle, Green Bay (11)
1975: Lynn Boden, tackle, Detroit (1)
1975: Jerry Lawrence, defensive tackle, Houston (8)
1976: Todd Simonson, defensive tackle, Houston (6)
1976: Bob Gissler, defensive end, Miami (14)
1978: Bill Matthews, linebacker, New England (5)
1980: Chuck Loewen, offensive lineman, San Diego (7)
1986: Bruce Klostermann, linebacker, Denver (8)
1993: Doug Miller, linebacker, San Diego (7)
1995: Adam Timmerman, offensive lineman, Green Bay (7)
1999: Steve Heiden, tight end, San Diego (3)
2010: Danny Batten, defensive end, Buffalo (6)
2018: Dallas Goedert, tight end, Philadelphia (2)
2019: Jordan Brown, cornerback,Cincinnati (7)
2022: Pierre Strong, Jr., running back, New England (4)
2022: Chris Oladokun, quarterback, Pittsburgh (7)
2023: Tucker Kraft, tight end, Green Bay (3)
Note: Round selected in parentheses