New Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen was asked this week if there was a player who surprised him while watching game footage of Tampa Bay’s offense last year.

To hear Coen name tight end Cade Otton as the surprise player was … well, surprising to a degree.

“Cade Otton is a guy that if you look at his body of work in such a short time playing in the NFL, you take for granted that he played 98% of the snaps last year,” Coen said. “That’s something we need to take off his plate a little bit, but you gain more of an appreciation for a guy that is playing 98% of the snaps in this weather, in this league, at a position where you are playing really two.

“You are playing wideout and you are playing O-line in a lot of ways. So I gained a lot of appreciation [for him] – and he’s a great guy. I got to meet him and be around him. He seems like the type of person you want your son to grow up to be like. Cade would be one of those guys for sure.”

The team’s fourth-round pick in 2022, Otton took over as the team’s starting tight end this past season after Cam Brate retired and doubled his touchdown production with four scores, while catching 47 passes for 455 yards (9.7 avg.) – also career highs. Otton has been a below-the-radar offensive weapon that might not sneak up on opponents in 2024 the way he did his first two seasons thanks to a breakout postseason.

The 6-foot-5, 247-pound tight end caught eight passes for 89 yards (11.1 avg.) – both career highs – in Tampa Bay’s 32-9 Wild Card playoff win over Philadelphia. The next week at Detroit, Otton had five catches for 65 yards (13 avg.) and a touchdown in a 31-23 loss in the Divisional playoff round.

Cade Otton Is Looking To Build On His Big Postseason
Was Cade Otton’s big postseason a product of him being overlooked on an offense that has much more explosive and dangerous weapons? Or is Otton emerging as one of those weapons in Tampa Bay’s passing game, and his production in the playoffs a sign of things to come in 2024? That remains to be seen, but Otton is encouraged by what happened in January.

“It was fun to end the year having some production like that,” Otton said. “I’m excited for the future and what we can build on as a team. It will be fun going forward. I’m super excited about next year.”

Otton was the fifth-most targeted Buccaneer on offense last year with 67 targets in the passing game. That was one behind rookie wide receiver Trey Palmer (68) and three behind running back Rachaad White (70). Of course Mike Evans and Chris Godwin led the way with 136 and 130 targets, respectively.

Bucs 2023 Postseason Receiving Production
TE Cade Otton: 13 receptions for 154 yards and 1 TD
WR Chris Godwin: 13 receptions for 85 yards and 1 TD
WR Mike Evans: 11 catches for 195 yards and 1 TD
RB Rachaad White: 5 catches for 39 yards and 1 TD
WR Trey Palmer: 4 catches for 88 yards and 1 TD
WR David Moore: 4 catches for 77 yards and 1 TD

But in the postseason, Otton caught more passes than Evans and produced more yards than Godwin. Otton and Evans were both the most targeted Bucs in the playoffs with Baker Mayfield sending 19 passes their way.

“Obviously Cade is an extremely consistent guy,” Mayfield said. “He’s not flashly. He just is who he is. He’s really quiet. He just lurks in the background. I don’t think teams really game-planned for him a lot last year. Obviously you talk about Mike and Chris and those guys, and Cade kind of gets lost in the that. But he’s an unbelievable guy that does everything right – so consistent. And like you mentioned, the amount of snaps he played. He’s a warrior.”

Will Bucs Seek An Upgrade At Tight End?
Cade Otton showed some progress from his rookie year catching 42 passes for 391 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a rookie, but his yards-per-catch average only improved slightly from 9.3 to 9.7, while his TDs doubled. While he’s not the fleetest of foot, Otton did develop into a nice red zone weapon for Baker Mayfield, especially in Week 9 when he caught a career-high two touchdowns and finished with 70 yards on six catches in a 39-37 loss at Houston.

And he did show he had enough speed to make some big plays. Otton had seven catches of 20 yards or more last year, including a 20-yarder in Week at 18 at Carolina, a 24-yard reception against Philadelphia in the playoffs and a 27-yard catch at Detroit the following week.

That type of late-season production, plus an endorsement from new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, might change some minds inside the Bucs war room on draft day. Instead of finding an upgrade at tight end, the Bucs might use their draft picks to find starters elsewhere and bolster other positions and hope that Otton continues to grow and improve as a player.

“He made some big plays for us,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said of Otton at the NFL Scouting Combine. “[He has] been a very steady player. You know, sometimes he doesn’t appear to be like the flashiest player, but he’s very consistent and he’s capable of being an every-down player, but he needs a complement, too. We’re excited about Payne [Durham]. We will see where Payne comes along this year.”

Durham, a fifth-round pick last year, had just five catches for 58 yards as a rookie, and added an 18-yard reception against the Eagles in the playoffs. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Durham totaled 126 catches for 1,275 yards (10.1 avg.) at Purdue, but scored a whopping 21 touchdowns in four seasons, including eight as a senior. Tampa Bay is hoping he can move up the depth chart and solidify the No. 2 tight end spot and perhaps push Otton for the starting job.

With more 11 personnel (three-receiver sets) usage expected under Coen, there is a chance that the Bucs ignore the tight end position in this year’s draft and roll with Otton, Durham and Ko Kieft again this year. Tampa Bay may only keep three tight ends with six wide receivers on the roster as a result.

Cade Otton Needs To Get Stronger At The Point Of Attack
While he showed improvement as a receiver last year, Cade Otton must make strides as a run blocker this year. Otton took a step back in that area in 2023, perhaps as a result of playing such a high volume of snaps where he would wear down physically in games. Coen intends to dial back Otton’s snap count in 2024 in hopes of producing better results, but Payne Durham – or perhaps someone else – needs to prove capable of filling in for Otton when he’s not in the game.

Otton regressed as a run blocker according to Pro Football Focus, earning a grade of 50 last year after a 58.8 grade as a rookie. He fared even worse as a pass protector with a 44.9 PFF grade after posting a 78.3 grade as a rookie. Otton intends to hit the weight room this offseason to help get stronger at the point of attack on the line of scrimmage.

“The thing about being a tight end is that you have to do everything,” Otton said. “There won’t be one specific facet of my game that I’ll focus on, but I’ll make sure I’m working on my run blocking, my footwork, getting bigger and all the fundamentals that go along with that. I also want to work on catching the ball and running great routes on a consistent basis. That’ll be a big project this offseason for sure.”

Otton earned Mayfield’s trust in the passing game down the stretch last year. And Mayfield believes that Otton proved himself to the point where he could be able to do even more for the team in 2024.

“We asked him to do a lot considering the run game and all that – and he didn’t miss a whole lot,” Mayfield said. “We’re looking forward to help him out in some aspects and truly letting him do some of the things he’s really, really good at. Like I said, he’s consistent. So for him to be able continue to learn and have different coaches help him grow in that aspect. We’re looking forward to that.”