Over his first two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tight end Cade Otton has emerged as a coach's favorite, because coaches love players who consistently – or in Otton's case, nearly unerringly – do their job as it is designed. When asked about the former Washington standout, his coaches generally respond with some variation of, "He does everything right," and you know they mean it because they kept him on the field for an astounding 97% of the offensive snaps last year.
That sort of praise can sometimes sound like a backhanded compliment – jack of all trades, master of none; does the dirty work so others can shine; Steady Eddie; etc. The Buccaneers' offense revolves around receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, while Otton and the others are the supporting cast. That's not necessarily the case with Otton, though. Anyone who observed the Buccaneers last two training camp practices would assume that the third-year tight end is one of the main focal points in a passing game led by quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield and Otton put on a show Wednesday morning, with frequent hookups that included two big gains on routes to the right sideline – one on which he was tightly covered and had to make a nifty sliding grab – and a pair of key red zone completions, one in the end zone. Mayfield and Otton were at it again on Friday, and Buccaneers Assistant General Manager John Spytek certainly took notice. Spytek knows that if Otton is going to have a breakout season in terms of his receiving numbers, the bond that he has formed with Mayfield will be the reason why.
"I think he's a really good football player…and there's a high trust factor there. When lot of the focus is going to be on Mike and Chris, deservedly so, there's a lot of value in a guy that the quarterback just knows he will be where he's supposed to be. And so I can trust, if they take these two away, Cade's going to be freed up here and the ball's going to go to him, and he's going to be there and he's going to catch it. They were hot yesterday and they were hot again today. It's a cool thing to see."
If 2024 does prove to be a breakout season for Otton, it would be a soft breakout, because he certainly has not been unproductive in his first two seasons. Tight end is one of the hardest positions at which to make the transition to the NFL and most take a few seasons to fully develop into the player they can be. Otton was the fifth tight end drafted in 2022, taken with the first pick of the fourth round, and he has recorded 89 catches over his first two seasons combined. Only one of the four tight ends selected before him has more to this point, as Arizona's Trey McBride has 110. And even McBride wasn't an instant hit, with 29 receptions as a rookie before last season's surge to 81.
Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards in his huge bounce-back campaign and first year as the Bucs' starter in 2023, and both Godwin and Evans surpassed 75 catches and 1,000 yards. Mayfield also threw frequently to running back Rachaad White, who had 64 grabs of his own. The Buccaneers had the league's 17th-ranked passing attack but could improve that mark in 2024 by pushing the ball down the field a bit more. If so, Otton's strong route-running and reliable hands could make him a more frequent target on intermediate throws for Mayfield. As Spytek said, if Mayfield trusts Otton to be in the right spot and make the catch, he can throw his way without fear of a turnover due to miscommunication.
"I think we're going to be a little more aggressive this year with some of the stuff and on that there's an emphasis on the quarterback to still make sure we don't put the ball at risk a ton," said Spytek.
In a similar vein, Spytek noted that one of the team's newest pass-catchers, third-round receiver Jalen McMillan coincidentally also out of Washington, is starting to build the same sort of rapport with Mayfield during a very impressive rookie camp.
"I think you can all see the cool stuff that he does out here right now," said Spytek. "He's a very gifted athlete, he's a very gifted football player, and now the next step is consistently doing it day after day. We've yet to see how he plays with the pads on but we expect him to handle that well and keep building a rapport with the quarterback. With any wide receiver-quarterback combo there's got to be a good trust factor there, and he's got to earn that with Baker. But we're excited about how he's starting, for sure."
McMillan is clearly starting to gain Mayfield's trust. Otton already has it, and that could lead to a third-year surge for the ultra-reliable pro.
