Cade

Otton

All of Otton’s work came before halftime in a contest where Baker Mayfield generated just 18 completions for 116 yards. Otton has taken to leading the Bucs in receiving during Chris Godwin and Mike Evans’ absences, but Evans might finally be ready to return from his hamstring injury when Tampa comes off bye in Week 12. Even if Evans is back, Otton will have enough compiling and touchdown potential to keep him in the top 10 in fantasy.

Otton was the primary point of emphasis through the air for the second consecutive week following the injuries to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, the former of whom is out for the season while the latter is likely to return following the team’s Week 11 bye. That means fantasy managers are likely to get one more week of Otton as the lead pass-catcher when the Buccaneers play host to the 49ers in Week 10.

With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined, Otton functioned as the Bucs’ top pass-catching option and made the most of his opportunity. Otton now has 17 catches for 181 yards and two scores over his past two games and appears to be a top tight end option in the deleted Tampa offense. Baker Mayfield looks to Otton first on critical plays, including near the end zone. He has a chance to be a top three or four option in Week 9 against Kansas City.

Down 34-10 as the fourth quarter started, Otton was the hot hand against Baltimore’s prevent defense, racking up eight targets and 83 yards and getting punished heavily by Ravens defenders for the privilege. Otton would seem to be a real beneficiary of Chris Godwin’s absence going forward, and could make for an interesting waiver wire target now in our TE-starved timeline.

Otton reeled in his first touchdown of the season on a red zone strike from Baker Mayfield. The third-year tight end began the season with one catch for five yards in his first two appearances but has turned things around since then. He has 18 receptions for 158 yards over his past four games. With the Bucs staring down the barrel of a possible shootout with the Ravens next week, Otton will sit just outside of the TE1 ranks for his date with Baltimore.

Otton has now cleared 40 yards in three consecutive games after combining for 1/5/0 across Weeks 1 and 2. 3/44 doesn’t look impressive, but it came in a contest where Baker Mayfield attempted only 24 passes. Otton has done enough to establish weekly TE2 value considering the sorry state of his position. The Saints await for Week 6.

After being held without a catch in Week 2, Otton now has 13 grabs on 17 targets over the past two weeks. He has turned that volume into 99 yards. Otton is third in Tampa Bay’s pecking order for targets at best, but his recent resurgence keeps him on the TE2 radar for Week 5. Like most tight ends, it’s touchdown-or-bust for Otton versus the Falcons next week.

Otton also lost a fumble, but he doubled his combined targets total from Weeks 1 and 2. His missed connection was a lazy Baker Mayfield interception. With the Bucs not front-running, Otton was needed for more work. Similar game script could be on tap for Week 4 against the Eagles, though Otton remains outside the “priority streamer” range.

Otton was targeted twice, but had no catches. Tampa Bay had only 19 pass attempts, though one of them was an incompletion that bounced off Otton’s hands in the end zone. He was asked to block for some of the game as the offensive line needed help with Aiden Hutchinson, who had five sacks. Even if Otton had caught the short touchdown, he’s hardly viable in an offense with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and two pass catching running backs. Tampa Bay will face the Broncos at home in Week 3.

Otton was a non-factor in a game the Bucs controlled, but the tight end also finds himself in a crowded offense that might not have space for him. Chris Godwin is now operating full-time in the slot, which takes away a lot of Otton’s over-the-middle targets, and both Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer are getting on the field more as young receivers. With Rachaad White and Bucky Irving also strong pass-catchers, there just might not be enough to go around for Otton, so he can be left on waiver wires in fantasy leagues.