For a stretch last season, Cade Otton was an every-week must-start TE1. It was also a product of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing their two starting wide receivers. Now that he is facing increased competition for targets, will there be enough volume to go around to make Otton worth selection in fantasy football drafts?
Should You Draft Cade Otton in Fantasy?
Last year was somewhat of a breakout season for Otton. The third-year tight end set career highs in just about everything. He caught 59 passes for 600 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 10.0 fantasy points per game, good for an overall TE11 finish.
On the whole, those numbers aren’t anything special. 10.0 PPG is replacement-level for tight ends. You can mostly stream that.
However, Otton didn’t give fantasy managers 10 PPG. He was mostly the same unstartable fantasy asset he was during his first seasons, with three notable exceptions.
Chris Godwin was lost for the season in Week 7. Mike Evans strained his hamstring earlier in the same game, costing him the next three contests. During the three games Otton played, when Godwin and Evans were out, he posted games of 18.0, 29.1, and 21.7 fantasy points. In the 11 games Otton played with Evans on the field, he averaged 7.6 PPG.
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Of Otton’s 140 total fantasy points on the season, 49% came in three games. Otton wasn’t anything close to a weekly fantasy starter. He was the best tight end in fantasy for three weeks and belonged on the waiver wire the other 11.
CADE OTTON STEPPED UP & SHOWED OUT 😤
🏈 2 TDs
🏈 9 receptions
🏈 81 yards🔜 #TBvsKC 8:15 p.m. Monday on ABC/ESPN pic.twitter.com/MGKWe5ySHu
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 3, 2024
Otton was on the field a lot last season. His 92.8% snap share led all tight ends. However, he only earned a 19% target share, most of which was carried by those three games. He still saw a target on a mere 20.5% of his routes run, 28th in the league.
This season, it’s hard to envision Otton as anything other than waiver wire fodder and perhaps a weekly streamer in a favorable matchup. Unless the Bucs suffer a catastrophe at the WR position again, Otton is too far down the target hierarchy.
Evans and Godwin are both back. Jalen McMillan broke out over the season’s final month, proving he can be relied upon if needed. The team drafted Emeka Egbuka in the first round. They still have two quality pass-catching backs in Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. Otton looks to be roughly fifth or sixth in target priority.
Fantasy managers are well aware of this, which is why Otton’s ADP is way down at TE21. I have him ranked TE25. That is nowhere close to being drafted in standard-sized fantasy leagues.
Dan Fornek’s Cade Otton Fantasy Projection
Cade Otton doesn’t get the fanfare of other tight ends, but he has carved out a solid role in Tampa Bay’s passing attack despite competing with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Otton had the best season of his career in 2024, finishing with 87 targets, 59 receptions, 600 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. That was enough to push him into TE1 territory in PPR points per game (10.0), thanks to a career-best 10.2 yards per reception.
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Otton finished ninth in targets (87), 11th in target share (19.0%), air yards share (15.5%), and yards after the catch (311). He was poised to see a significant uptick in his workload as Godwin in 2025, as the pass catcher was recovering from his 2024 ankle injury. Still, that hope was shattered when the Buffalo Bills drafted Emeka Egubka in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That move all but ensures that Otton will once again be battling for a fantasy-relevant role.
Otton has a lot of talented competition for touches with the Buccaneers, but he has consistently earned targets in the past. For Otton to remain on fantasy radars, he will have to continue to earn targets or see an uptick of passing volume in the red zone (15 targets in 2023, TE8). Otton is a good late-round tight end to draft and hope for upside.
