Latest news with #CadeOtton
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tight End Cade Otton Ranked Poorly Among NFL's Best
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tight End Cade Otton Ranked Poorly Among NFL's Best originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't often get national love, regardless of being one of the most consistent teams over the past five seasons. Advertisement With stars on the roster like Mike Evans, Vita Vea and Lavonte David, their names are hardly ever on the list of the top of their position groups outside of Tampa Bay. Why should this offseason be any different? Pro Football Focus released its tight end rankings ahead of the 2025 season, and while Cade Otton isn't ranked highly, it's for good reason. 20. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers "Otton's Achilles' heel is drops. He has the third most (11) at the position across the past two years. His 63.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024 was a career high and also marks the first time he generated more than 1 yard per route run (1.31). If he can hang on to the ball (also three fumbles the past two years), Otton has the skills to rise on this list." Advertisement Otton is sandwiched between No. 19 Kyle Pitts in Atlanta and No. 21 Josh Oliver in Minnesota. Otton was a fourth-round pick by the Bucs in 2022 out of then-Pac-12 powerhouse Washington. He had an impressive rookie campaign with 391 yards and two touchdowns, but suffered from drops. He posted just 42 catches on 65 targets with five drops, leading all tight ends. The next season wasn't much better, with three drops on 67 targets, and he got worse last season. In 2024, Otton posted 59 catches on 87 targets with 600 yards and four touchdowns but eight drops. If Otton can clean up his pass catching, he'd be a far more effective offensive tool for quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Bucs. Advertisement Related: Ex Buccaneers QB Shocked at Haason Reddick's Absence from Voluntary OTAs Related: Buccaneers 3rd-Round Wideout Linked to AFC Contender This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Bucs' Cade Otton not held in high regard by PFF in preseason rankings
Bucs' Cade Otton not held in high regard by PFF in preseason rankings The Bucs have struggled with the tight end position in recent years despite their best efforts to get a hit at it. Pro Football Focus looked at the position across the NFL and listed their top 32 tight ends, and the Bucs' very own Cade Otton did not earn a very favorable spot on the list. Otton, one of the many former Washington Huskies on the Tampa Bay roster, came in at the 20 spot. To explain his bottom-half ranking, John Kosko writes about the one thing holding him back from going higher in rankings. "Otton's Achilles' heel is drops. He has the third most (11) at the position across the past two years. His 63.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024 was a career high and also marks the first time he generated more than 1 yard per route run (1.31). If he can hang on to the ball (also three fumbles the past two years), Otton has the skills to rise on this list." Otton emerged as a favorite candidate for Baker Mayfield after Chris Godwin's injury in Week 8. He became the safety valve Godwin was for the Heisman Trophy winner, and as a result, expectations increased. Otton is the third-ranked tight end in the NFC South, according to the rankings behind Tayson Hill (15) and Kyle Pitts (19).
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 Bucs Offseason Preview: Tight Ends
Since Rob Gronkowski retired in 2021, the Bucs' tight end position has appeared to be an afterthought. The emergence of Cade Otton in 2024 proved that notion to be erroneous. Otton's 2024 stats were not necessarily gaudy for a starting NFL tight end. He only caught 61 passes for 632 yards and four touchdowns, all essentially on par from last season. The difference was Otton's efficiency and ability to gain yards. After averaging 0.94 yards per route run in 2023, he drastically improved in 2024, averaging 1.31 yards per route run per Pro Football Focus. He also forced 13 missed tackles as a receiver, the third most among tight ends. Otton also continued his improvement as a blocker, particularly in the run game. He established himself as a viable three-down tight end, capable of leading the Bucs tight end room going forward. The Bucs could seek to extend him this offseason, though he still has one year left on his rookie deal. Second-year TE Payne Durham improved as well, proving to be a capable backup when Otton missed the last three games of the season. Durham is not quite as reliable as Otton but he did prove to be a red zone weapon, catching a touchdown in each of his two starts at the end of the season. Otton's fellow 2022 draftee Ko Kieft was used primarily as a run blocker. Rookie Devin Culp was inactive nearly the entire season until the last few weeks of the season when he flashed his receiving skills, converting for first downs on four of his five receptions in Week 18 and the Wild Card game. The Bucs tight end group produced more than it has since Gronkowski was on the roster. This was a function of improvement of the players and the structure of the offense. With the Bucs offense due to change again with the departure of offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Tampa Bay cannot assume progress by the tight end group without examining possible talent upgrades. According to Over the Cap, the Bucs have just $2.1 million in cap space for the 2025 season, so free agency is not a viable option to add new talent to the tight end room. The Bucs' front office under Jason Licht tends to make its big bets in the draft anyways, as it would for any key tight end additions this offseason. Miami TE Elijah Arroyo broke out last year with Cam Ward leveraging his athleticism as a deep threat, averaging 17 yards per reception in 2024. Arroyo is not much of a blocker, but as a move tight end, he would be a definitive upgrade to the passing offense. The Bucs could wait until Day 3 of the draft to take Utah TE Brant Kuithe. Though his size would limit him to a receiving role, Kuithe has the chops to be dangerous in the NFL. In 2024, he averaged 2.55 yards per route run and forced 14 missed tackles on 35 receptions. With Cade Otton's emergence as a viable starting NFL tight end, the position is not likely to be a major priority for the Bucs this offseason. At best the Bucs could bring in competition for their existing depth, but for the foreseeable future, the tight end position belongs to Otton.
