Tied at seven in the second quarter against the Falcons, Buccaneers' tight end Cade Otton shifted the momentum and brought the crowd to their feet. From third-and-eight, Otton was lined up in a three-man bunch formation on the left side. Otton utilized an outside release to bypass Richie Grant and then hurdled over Jessie Bates III to gain additional yardage en route to a 29-yard pickup on National Tight Ends Day. That play helped set up Rachaad White's touchdown, which gave the Bucs their first lead of the day.
"Coach Coen had a great concept, and I was able to get open over the middle," said Otton. "Baker [Mayfield] threw a great ball, and I saw the safety coming in low, so I tried to pick my legs up a little bit, and I was able to get past him and made a big gain. It was a great play all around and obviously the line had great protection too. So, whether it was me or someone else, we just need to keep doing those things and executing at every level."
Otton became the offensive catalyst on Sunday inside Raymond James Stadium. He hauled in a career-high nine receptions for 81 receiving yards and a career-high-tying two touchdown receptions. Otton established career highs in receptions for the second straight week after he brought in nine catches in Week Seven. It marked the second time in Otton's career that he brought in multiple receiving touchdowns, joining Week Nine of the 2023 season at Houston. Otton's performance against Atlanta marked the seventh game in club history in which a tight end finished with 80-plus receiving yards and multiple touchdowns – the first since Rob Gronkowski did so in Week One of the 2021 season against the Dallas Cowboys. Through Sunday's 1 p.m. slate of games, Otton ranked third in the NFL in receptions among tight ends (36), sixth in receiving yards (344), and tied for fourth in touchdown catches (3). Since Week Three, Otton leads all tight ends in receptions with 35.
"Cade's a guy that sometimes gets overshadowed by the rest of this skill group that we have, but he does a ton of the dirty work," stated Mayfield. "He does a lot for this offense, run-game, pass-game, and today he made a lot of plays that we needed. Today was a just an example of him getting a chance to showcase his skills. He's obviously a very intelligent player, just being in the right spot at the right time in some of these zone-coverage plays that we had dialed up. He did a great job."
On Sunday, Otton took advantage of voids in coverage and exploited soft spots in zone to move the chains. The physical playmaker made a mark in the absence of Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (injured reserve). He is an instinctive route runner and became Mayfield's go-to target in crunch time against a divisional foe. With a solid punch at the point of attack while blocking in the run game and the ability to alter speed mid-routes to generate separation, Otton spurred the offense in Week Eight. He played with a competitive edge and picked up yards when breaking with elite body control on the gridiron.
