Reliable Cade Otton
July 21st, 2024
Tight end Cade Otton.
Joe was starting to worry about Cade Otton. Thankfully, those worries were premature.
Last year at training camp, Otton, entering his second season at tight end, had a very bad case of the dropsies. He wasn’t the only tight end to seemingly drop most balls that hit his hands.
After one particularly bad practice for Otton, a media visitor walked into the media workroom and asked out loud, “Man, it sure seems like the Bucs put the ball on the ground a lot. Or is that just me?”
It wasn’t.
Maybe it was Otton getting used to throws from Baker Mayfield or getting comfortable with Dave Canales’ offense. Once the season began, Otton got better, so much so that Otton was making some damn good catches down the stretch and into the playoffs. It had the feel that Otton, as an NFL player, had turned the corner.
Advanced stats and research by Sharp Football Analysis suggest Otton is an underused element in the Bucs offense.
Cade Otton may not have shown the highest ceiling through two seasons, but he has been a reliable player. Otton played the most snaps in the league at tight end last season, playing 96.5% of the plays.
He only made mild contributions as a pass catcher, however, catching 47 passes for 455 yards and four touchdowns. The Buccaneers were 29th in the NFL in target rate to their tight end last season at 14.7%.
oe has no idea if that will change with new Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen this fall. Let’s face it, Otton is no foot-rubbing Rob Gronkowski who, despite having Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and crazy Antonio Brown, was a key cog in the Bucs offense.
And Otton isn’t exactly the world’s greatest blocker, either.
Still, the way Otton caught balls, tough catches, later in the season in 2023, if he can take the next step forward, he could be a sneaky special option for Mayfield when teams are focused on Evans and Godwin.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t he catch the game winners at home against the Slimy Saints and Rams comebacks with Brady? And did he not catch the game winner in Atlanta last year, the late go ahead TD against the Texans (which defense blew), and a TD against the Lions in the divisional round? Dude is a stud and needs to be used much more often.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:06 pm
Will statistics and analytics determine Otton’s play this year or will his play be more affected by his heart ? I think his play will be more affected by the memory of his mother and the loss his family endures.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:30 pm
He’s a good player, his ceiling is Brate which is a darn solid ceiling.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:36 pm
It really says a LOT about our TE position group when a TE who ‘isn’t exactly the world’s greatest blocker’ plays over 96% of the offensive snaps. Bucs carried 4 TEs last season; Otton got 1064 snaps, Kieft got 207, Durham got 128 & Wells got 43. Otton was targeted 67 times; the other 3 together were only targeted 14 times. Sure doesn’t seem to say much about the quality of our TE group beyond Otton. I’m really hoping that Durham steps up as a blocker this season first of all, but also as a receiver in this new offense.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:49 pm
Totally off topic but kind of cool.
Dare Ogunbawale’s sister just dominated Team USA in a prep game for the Olympics. I remember him saying in an interview that his sis was the one who got all the talent in the family. Cool.
July 21st, 2024 at 12:57 pm
Average player.
July 21st, 2024 at 1:20 pm
By the time he becomes good enough all the time to be counted on and utilized someone will be drafted who will be physically better. Dude needs to jump by leaps and bounds this year to be worth holding on to
July 21st, 2024 at 2:16 pm
This TE room lacks production with average-poor blocking and too many drops, so that’s why John Van Damm was moved out and Justin Peele was hired.
July 21st, 2024 at 2:30 pm
He’s solid and still improving. I would like to see him work on being a tougher blocker, it would in turn help our 3rd down conversions. That’s where players like Gronk set themselves apart. Be a mean and nasty lineman that has soft hands and quick burst of speed, will become Baker’s new best friend.
July 21st, 2024 at 2:40 pm
Don’t sleep on Cade. He too (like so many of our guys young and old) seems committed to improving. He made some clutch catches last year. He’s going to need some help tho..
July 21st, 2024 at 3:11 pm
He has the least passes because a tight end is normally in the middle of the field and we have a QB who doesn’t see the middle of the field well because of his size
July 21st, 2024 at 3:22 pm
TE is one of the slowest positions to develop/adjust in moving from college to NFL. We are going to be fine with Cade. He is solid and reliable. Don’t need a Superstar at every position. Durham will step up too. Keep in mind how young these guys are vs the Kelces, Kittles, etc… Not a position of worry.
July 21st, 2024 at 3:28 pm
This will be his year to shine.
July 21st, 2024 at 4:21 pm
I like Cade, he’s like the Anthony Nelson of our offense in regards that most fans don’t remember him until he makes a play. Cades made some plays in his short career nothing I’ve seen says he can’t make some more.
July 21st, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Could Gronk come back?
He’s the missing piece.
July 21st, 2024 at 4:59 pm
I don’t see this kid taking over many games, but he should be a reliable solid player if they use him right. I hope Coen targets him a bit more this year. I bet we only keep three TEs this year and Kief isn’t one of them.
July 21st, 2024 at 5:04 pm
I sincerely doubt Gronk plays again. From what I’ve heard he has mostly lived on endorsements and rarely touched his football money. He is set for life.
July 21st, 2024 at 5:07 pm
Cade is an excellent number 2 TE. He is the new Cam Brate. I don’t want him going anywhere, but he just has a ceiling.
July 21st, 2024 at 9:42 pm
I don’t think they are going to really feature the TE unless Cohen changed things from his Rams days
July 22nd, 2024 at 7:51 am
If he could pull off a block I would not be worried. TE is not all about catching passes unfortunately Joe. Ask Gronk.
Go Bucs!
July 22nd, 2024 at 8:40 am
He’s been solid but not amazing. Right place right time.
July 22nd, 2024 at 10:20 am
Well, I don’t think it’s OK for a TE to start with dropsies, gets better, still not a great blocker and every body says they are satisfied. NO! A TE needs to be a great blocker or a good receiver. If he does both like the guy for the 49ers then you have gold. There are TEs sitting on the bench or the couch that might do better. Cut those other 3 guys and get 2-3 prospects and maybe we don’t have to be satisfied with just OK.
July 22nd, 2024 at 1:49 pm
Sometimes Otton comes out of nowhere. He is a good player. Like others commented, reminds me of Cam Brate. Not a sleeper at all.