South Dakota State Professional Athletes

South Dakota State's NFL alumni had a Week 1 worth talking about — and two Jackrabbits in particular made sure of it.

Dallas Goedert: Still Underrated, Still Delivering

Philadelphia's opener against Washington could have gone sideways early. The Eagles offense sputtered through its first two possessions before Jalen Hurts found Dallas Goedert to get things moving — and Goedert never really stopped. The veteran tight end finished the 24-22 win with four receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for two of Hurts' three TD passes on the afternoon.

The performance wasn't just a good box score. According to Sports Illustrated, it put Goedert in striking distance of another Eagles franchise record — a remarkable footnote for a player whose career has been frequently interrupted by injury and whose contributions often go unacknowledged amid Philadelphia's offensive star power. Yahoo Sports captured the sentiment bluntly: "He's never talked about enough."

At this point, that's almost a brand. Goedert's consistency as a top-tier tight end, even while operating in the background of a loaded Eagles offense, is the story that keeps not getting told loudly enough. Week 1 made the argument again.

Tucker Kraft: $75M and a Message

Up in Green Bay, Tucker Kraft's week started with a contract and ended with a challenge. The Packers locked up their starting tight end on a four-year, $75 million extension — signed one day before the opener — and also named him a team captain. Then the Vikings came to town and handed Green Bay a second-half meltdown.

Kraft did his part: three catches for 65 yards in a new offensive role. But the Packers collapsed late, and Kraft wasn't interested in deflecting blame or crediting Minnesota. Per Heavy Sports, he refused to give the Vikings credit for the comeback and instead turned the loss into a direct challenge aimed inward — at himself and his teammates.

That kind of accountability, delivered from someone who just signed a $75M deal and is wearing a captain's patch, carries weight. Kraft is clearly positioning himself as more than a pass-catching option in Green Bay — he wants to be a leader who sets the tone. Week 1 gave him his first real platform to do it.

The Rest of the Jackrabbits

Beyond the two headliners, a handful of other SDSU alumni saw NFL action in Week 1. Isaiah Davis carried the ball for the Jets in a 23-10 win over Tennessee, while linebacker Isaiah Stalbird was on the field for New Orleans in a narrow 30-31 loss to Detroit. Neither generated notable counting stats in the research window, but both remain active contributors on their respective rosters.

SDSU has quietly built one of the more impressive NFL alumni footprints of any FCS program, with 16 active players across the league. Goedert and Kraft are the marquee names — and through one week, they've done nothing to relinquish that status.

Tucker Kraft Is Back, and the Packers Want to Keep Him

South Dakota State's most prominent NFL alumni story heading into the 2026 season belongs entirely to Tucker Kraft — and it's a layered one. The Green Bay tight end is returning from a torn ACL suffered last November, hasn't played a regular-season snap since, and yet the hype around him couldn't be louder as the Packers prepare for their season opener.

Kraft has been described as a "freight train" in pre-opener assessments, with observers flagging him as a weapon capable of immediately elevating Green Bay's offense — even as the team navigates the Josh Jacobs situation on the commissioner exempt list. For an offense leaning on Jordan Love to orchestrate playmakers, a healthy Kraft returning to the field is a significant variable. Fantasy analysts are already tracking his availability closely, with the consensus being he's expected to suit up for Week 1 despite the ACL recovery timeline.

The bigger subplot, though, is the money. The Packers are reportedly "motivated" to get a contract extension done with Kraft, and the feeling appears mutual — with one catch. Kraft has made clear he sees his future in Green Bay long-term, but he's also been candid that the negotiation has been harder than expected. "It's just a game of back and forth, and my job, my responsibility…" he said, acknowledging the friction without walking away from the table. For Jackrabbit fans watching from Brookings, the combination of a marquee comeback, a franchise-level contract dispute, and genuine breakout potential makes Kraft the most compelling SDSU storyline in the NFL this week.

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Elsewhere in the Alumni Ranks

Not every SDSU alum had a banner week. Chris Oladokun, the Chiefs quarterback who has bounced between rosters since entering the league, was waived by Kansas City as the team finalized its 53-man roster. Kansas City kept three quarterbacks — Oladokun wasn't among them. It's another setback for the former Jackrabbit signal-caller, who has yet to carve out a secure NFL foothold.

On the roster-security front, the research brief confirms a wide spread of SDSU alumni currently active across the league: Isaiah Davis with the Jets, Dallas Goedert with the Eagles, Garret Greenfield with the Seahawks, Mason McCormick with the Steelers, and Pierre Strong Jr. — also with the Packers alongside Kraft — among others. No major storylines broke for those players this week, but the sheer volume of active SDSU alumni across multiple franchises speaks to what the Jackrabbit program has built as an NFL pipeline.

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The week belongs to Kraft, though. A torn ACL, a contract standoff, and a pre-opener spotlight — it's the kind of convergence that defines a player's trajectory. Whether Green Bay locks him up long-term before the season kicks off, and whether he picks up where he left off as one of the more physically imposing tight ends in the NFC, are questions that will answer themselves fast. For SDSU fans, the wait for Week 1 just got a lot more interesting.

Tucker Kraft's Payday Is Coming — The Question Is When

The Green Bay Packers want Tucker Kraft locked up. The tight end wants to stay. So what's the holdup?

Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst made the team's position crystal clear this week, telling reporters: "We would love to have that done." According to Pro Football Talk, the Packers and Kraft have both maintained a mutual desire throughout the offseason and into training camp to get a contract extension across the finish line. That's the easy part. The harder part — settling on the numbers — is where things stand.

Kraft, a product of South Dakota State's tight end factory in Brookings, has emerged as one of the more promising young pass-catchers in the NFC North. The Packers selected him in the third round of the 2023 draft, and he's steadily grown into a featured role in Green Bay's offense. With Dallas Goedert — another SDSU alum — commanding top-of-market money in Philadelphia, Kraft has a clear ceiling to negotiate toward, even if the comparable isn't a perfect apples-to-apples match.

Gutekunst's public comments are notable in their own right. GMs don't typically volunteer enthusiasm about contract talks unless they're comfortable telegraphing commitment. For Jackrabbits fans, this is less a question of if and more a matter of when — and whether the deal lands before the regular season opener.

Oladokun Fighting for a Roster Spot in Kansas City

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Chris Oladokun is trying to carve out a future in the NFL's most demanding environment. The former SDSU quarterback is locked in a three-way battle for the backup QB role behind Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, competing against veterans Justin Fields and Garrett Nussmeier.

Per FanSided's preseason grades through two games, the competition has gotten "fiery" — a tough room for any quarterback, let alone one still working to cement his place on an NFL roster. Oladokun has shown enough to remain in the conversation, but Fields brings name recognition and Nussmeier brings draft pedigree. The margin for error is essentially zero.

The Chiefs' preseason schedule continues to serve as the crucible. Oladokun's path to a 53-man roster spot likely runs through standout performances in the remaining preseason contests — the kind that force a front office's hand.

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Two very different situations, one common thread: SDSU alumni competing at football's highest level with meaningful stakes on the line. Kraft is playing for generational money; Oladokun is playing for a job. Both outcomes will be worth watching as the preseason window closes and rosters take their final shape.