Ever play a round of "Pick to Click" with your buddies before your favorite team plays a game? It's basically a prediction competition – each of you chooses one player on your team that you think is poised to have the biggest game. After the game you compare notes and decide which of you made the best prediction.
That's what Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix and I have decided to do during the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' playoff-hunting stretch drive, and then hopefully into the postseason.
The rules are simple: Bri and I each pick one Buccaneers player on Friday and explain why we think they are poised for a big game. We can't duplicate picks so order may matter; Bri will pick first this week and then we'll rotate week by week. Since neither of us would be impartial enough to do the judging after the game, we've asked Team Reporter Casey Phillips to step in as the guest judge each week. (Presumably she will be impartial, though she did suggest she might be open to bribes.)
So Casey will judge who won each week and we'll keep score. In other words, this is going to get personal. You're going down, Bri.
So who's your pick to click for the Buccaneers against the Raiders?
Brianna Dix: Calijah Kancey
The Raiders have allowed 41.0 sacks in 2024 (27th) and their front line has struggled down the stretch. The starting five that will take the field on Sunday against the Buccaneers is the same unit for the fourth-straight week, generating some continuity. The new unit consists of Jackson Powers-Johnson at center, Jordan Meredith at left guard, Kolton Miller at left tackle, Dylan Parham at right guard and DJ Glaze at right tackle. After the Raiders' Week Nine loss to the Bengals, the team fired Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and Offensive Line Coach James Cregg. Joe Philbin took over the line with a plan to simplify the blocking assignments/scheme.
In recent weeks, the majority of the pressure against the Raiders has been through the middle, as Chiefs' three-technique Chris Jones nabbed two sacks on Sunday and Broncos' nose tackle D.J. Jones recorded a half-sack in Week 12. Bucs' three-technique Calijah Kancey missed the first five weeks of the season but has notched 5.0 sacks over the last four games, tying for third in the NFL in sacks per game since Week Nine (1.25). Kancey produced the Bucs' lone sack against Bryce Young in Week 13 and with the Raiders likely sliding protections to menacing nose tackle Vita Vea, I predict Kancey will have a big game on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Kancey and Vea are tied with a team-high 6.0 sacks and the pair are in the midst of a friendly competition to see who can break the tie. Kancey's first-step quickness, pass rush toolbox, twitchy feet and contact balance jump off the tape. In Week 14, I predict that Kancey's burst off the line will overwhelm the Raiders' front, prompting a breakout day for the second-year player.
Scott Smith: Cade Otton
Third-year tight end Cade Otton has had a somewhat unusual season in terms of his receiving numbers. He still is playing nearly every offensive snap like he did last year under Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales, but in the first two games he caught just one pass for five yards. It seemed that might be the product of new OC Liam Coen leaning very heavily on three-receiver sets and keeping the tight end in to block more often than not. However, Otton got 17 targets and 13 catches in Weeks Three and Four combined. Then, following injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, he went on a three-week tear that included 31 targets, 25 receptions, 258 yards and three touchdowns. Evans returned to the lineup after the Bucs bye and in the two weeks since Otton has just five catches for 50 yards.
So why pick him this week instead of a more consistent offensive producer like Evans or Bucky Irving? I just feel like it's time for the pendulum to swing back again for Otton. Baker Mayfield has insisted all season that one of the main goals of Coen's offense is to throw to the open man, whoever that might be. The Raiders have the NFL's 14th-ranked pass defense, but they've allowed the third-most fantasy points to the tight end position this year. I know we're not talking fantasy football here, but those points are the result of a lot of real-life production. The Raiders are allowing 67 yards per game to opposing tight ends and have allowed them to find the end zone seven times.
Otton has been a coaches' favorite since he arrived in Tampa because he so consistently does everything he's supposed to do and goes exactly where's supposed to go on his routes. Unfortunately, he had a couple drops in the Bucs' win over Carolina last week, including one in the end zone, and Coen brought that up when asked about Otton's recent lack of receiving production. Mayfield is the type of leader who is going to try to help a teammate reverse that type of trend. I predict that Otton gets open repeatedly against the Raiders and Mayfield makes a point of getting him the ball. Five catches, 70 yards and a touchdown. That's my Pick to Click.
