NFL Draft 2023: South Dakota State TE Tucker Kraft intrigued by Dolphins' Mike McDaniel

South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft comes from Timber Lake, S.D., which, legend has it, didn’t have much in the way of timber or lake when it was founded in the early 1900s. Fans at his high school football games never said a word about being the 12th man because the school played nine-man football. Kraft said he had lucrative NIL offers to leave the Jackrabbits last season but let Power 5 suitors know he was just fine finishing his college career where he started it.

Kraft knows his days of living in a town encompassing few acres (390) and about as many people are about to end. In a stellar draft class for tight end talent, he qualifies as one of the better prospects, though not so high that it’s inconceivable he’ll be around in the second round when the Dolphins make their first pick, 51st overall. That’s why the Dolphins met with Kraft at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

“Mike McDaniel's an interesting character,” Kraft said. “He's a real fun guy. So I had a good time in that interview. We talked my life, we talked football, we watched some film.”

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With Mike Gesicki signing with the Patriots, tight end is one of the biggest areas of need for the Dolphins. Gesicki no longer is around because he lacks the blocking skills McDaniel requires in his tight ends. At 6-feet-5 and 254 pounds, Kraft is rated as capable in both areas by NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein.

After suffering a leg injury requiring surgery in last season’s opener, Kraft missed six games before returning for the final eight and helping South Dakota State win the FCS national championship. The Jackrabbits might have a tight end pipeline on their hands, having already sent Dallas Goedert to the Philadelphia Eagles. And, for what it’s worth, Kraft is now represented by Jack Bechta, George Kittle’s agent.

Which isn’t to say Kraft doesn’t appreciate how far he has come.

“There’s a lot of guys that would do some terrible things to be in my position,” Kraft said, pointing out that fewer than a dozen FCS players were invited to the Combine. “So I’m very thankful for that.”

Kraft has maturity in his corner. His father, Doug, played football at Huron University in London, Ontario, and tried out for the Dolphins in 1997 but died when Tucker was 12 in 2013.

“After that, my mom developed a very serious chronic illness,” he said. “So I spent like my entire junior and senior year living alone, taking care of chores. I grew up in a ranching community. I’m very thankful for everyone that came around and tried to help out and play dad for me. I’m not gong to say I’ve done everything on my own, but I had to learn how to grow up a lot faster than all my friends and become very self-sufficient.”

Although Kraft didn’t have a strength coach per se, he put on 40 pounds for his senior season.

“In high school, I weighed more than all of my offensive linemen,” Kraft said. “So that was different.”

Kraft’s high school graduating class consisted of 24 students, so it’s no surprise he played nine-man football. He played various positions including middle linebacker, quarterback and punter. He was an all-state basketball player. The one thing he wasn’t? A tight end.

“I probably played three snaps total of tight end in high school,” he said.

South Dakota State was the first to offer him a scholarship and he took it, even though other schools later came calling. That plot was repeated before last season when Power 5 schools came calling with lucrative NIL offers. It’s legal. Kraft knew that, even if he didn’t approve of such overtures. Other schools were attracted after he caught 65 passes for 773 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games in 2021. In that injury-shortened 2022 season, he played nine games and finished with 27 receptions for 348 yards and three scores.

Although Kraft could have played two more seasons with South Dakota State, he announced his attention to go pro in December partially to get the NIL folks off his back and partially to focus on leading the Jackrabbits to a national championship, which he did.

“That’s something that no one can take away from me,” he said. “I’m at the FCS level but I left the best. I had several lucrative offers to leave South Dakota State, large sums of money. But at the end of the day, I kind of just took the money out of the equation and realized I’ve got to go with relationships with people that you can’t just sell out for. I couldn’t leave any of my best friends, the coaching staff. I was really tied to them.”

Kraft was one of only three tight ends to handle 23 bench press reps at 225 pounds at the Combine. Although players such as Michael Mayer of Notre Dame and Luke Musgrave of Oregon State are projected to be among the first tight ends to come off the board, Kraft is in that next group.

“Combination tight end with the projectable skill set to handle pass-catching and run-blocking duties at the next level,” Zierlein wrote. “Currently, he’s a more effective blocker in space than in-line, but that is correctable with better hand usage and proper angles of entry into his base blocks. Kraft provides formational versatility that will be appealing for teams that make heavy use of 12 personnel (two tight ends). He has the body control and catch toughness to be more than just a traditional Y tight end. Kraft has Day 2 talent and should see the field early with a chance to become a TE1.”

Kraft and his fellow tight end prospects are entering the NFL in a golden age at the position, with the spotlight squarely on Kittle and Travis Kelce, dominant players and personalities. Kraft offered a hint he might be in a similar mold when it comes to personality.

“A lot of us are kind of goofy,” Kraft said of tight ends. “And we like playing loose and having fun. So I think when you turn on a tight end and you witness their personality firsthand, that’s something that other teams want to emulate. They want to have that kind of guy in their locker room.”

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter  @gunnerhal.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Dakota State TE Tucker Kraft hits it off with Mike McDaniel