Which Way Is the Cade Otton Experience Headed?
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
By the time the 2023 season had ended, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton looked poised to be the team’s next breakout offensive star. Otton just came off a campaign where he brought in 47 catches for 455 yards and four touchdowns in his first year with Baker Mayfield, and the pair’s chemistry during the preseason appeared off-the-charts.
Then the season started.
Despite two victories for the Bucs, Otton was nearly nonexistent in Weeks 1 and 2. He had one catch for five yards in the opener, following that up with an even quieter zero-catch performance where he added negative-one rushing yards against the Detroit Lions. Week 3 technically saw an uptick, as Otton put up seven grabs on eight targets. Unfortunately, his catches were all the result of him being a short-yardage safety blanket for a constantly pressured Mayfield, averaging just 6.7 yards per catch. Any positivity that can be taken from his numbers was ruined by his fumble at the Broncos’ 10-yard line with under four minutes to play, all but ending the game.
So here we sit, with the Buccaneers desperate for the emergence of an extra pass-catcher to compliment their dynamic wide receiver duo, wondering what the path forward is with Otton.
A big culprit in this slow start has been the offensive line. Heading into the 2024 season, the Buccaneers’ O-Line was never believed to be the best in the NFL, but many believed they would be much improved, including PFF, which ranked them among the league’s most-improved units after the draft.
That has not born out over the first three games. Not only does the line not look improved, but the group as a whole seems to have regressed. Yes, Tristan Wirfs still looks like one of the best tackles in football, ranking as the fifth-best at his position, according to PFF. In 106 pass-blocking snaps, he has allowed only four pressures and zero sacks. However, Wirfs is only one guy, and he can’t block five or six defenders on his own.
The rest of the line was putrid against the Broncos, starting with Ben Bredeson, who had a pass block rating of 18.1% and allowed three pressures. Mayfield was constantly under pressure from the Broncos because this poor play, which means Otton couldn’t do anything but run the shortest routes before his quarterback had to get rid of the ball. Todd Bowles didn’t mince words when talking about the reason for the lack of deep chances on Sunday.
“It was disappointing that we couldn’t block enough for him to get it down the field. Then we couldn’t get the run game going so they could sit back all day and didn’t give us those shots, as well. We’ve got to do a better job overall getting our game going up front so we can take those type of shots down the field.”
Mayfield has completed 78.5 percent of his passes with a clean pocket this season, compared to only 58.8 percent when he’s under pressure. His yards per attempt also drops from 8.2 yards to 6.0 yards without a clean pocket.
Mayfield is under pressure and doesn’t have as much time to look down the field for Otton or his other wide receivers like Mike Evans, who has also gotten out to a slow start. Last season, 10 of Otton’s 60 catches had a receiving depth of at least 10 yards. This season, that number has dropped to zero. Based on last year’s results, if Mayfield had a little more time, Otton would have at least one or two more catches for at least 10 yards.
Another reason for Otton’s lack of opportunities might be offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Last season, Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats, and the tight end wasn’t a priority in that offense. In fact, the position had a combined total of 29 catches for the Blue and White. Compare that to Dave Canales’ offense last season, which finished with 53 catches from their tight ends.
The Bucs did play four more games than Kentucky, but on a per-game basis, the Canales-led offense still had more tight-end success. Kentucky tight ends averaged 2.2 catches per game, compared to Tampa Bay, which averaged 3.1 catches per game. In 2022, when Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, Tyler Higbee caught 72 passes by himself, though it should also be noted that Coen wasn’t calling the plays. Coen will need to divert from this tendency to ignore the tight end.
Though even if Coen re-emphasizes the tight end, is Otton going to be the beneficiary? There has been chatter about whether there should be more opportunities for Payne Durham and Devin Culp if Otton continues to struggle. Durham was drafted in the fifth round of 2023 and has been targeted eight times during his NFL career, catching six passes for six yards. Culp was selected in the seventh round of this year’s draft, though he hasn’t yet been active on game day.
It’s always easy to go looking to guys like Durham and Culp for production when the starters struggle, but Otton could use patience. Just a couple of months ago, there was talk about Otton being primed for a big season. Do three bad games change our opinion that much? The three games have been a disappointment, but less than 20 percent of the season is gone. If the offensive line can keep Baker upright, the entire offense’s production will increase, including Otton’s catches. If the Bucs offense can find its way, you can be sure that Otton will regain his form, as well.
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