Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton was the biggest beneficiary of the injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin last season, as he rose to be Baker Mayfield's top weapon.
He had a three-game stretch of 100, 81, and 71 yards, along with at least eight receptions, to easily have the best return of his career with 600 receiving yards and four touchdowns from 59 receptions.
Now we look to this season, and through three games, Otton has been nearly invisible, only totaling three receptions for 25 yards, all of which came in the win over the Houston Texans. In Week 1, he played 86 percent of the offensive snaps for just three targets and no receptions, and in Week 2, he had three receptions for 25 yards.
In Week 3 against the New York Jets, Otton didn't have a single target despite playing 91.7 percent of the offensive snaps, so what is going on with a player who is coming off a career-best season, yet isn't being targeted despite the key offensive injuries?
I don't entirely know, but it does seem odd, and now, with Evans out for at least three to four weeks according to reports, another opportunity has arisen for Otton to get his teeth into the season.
MORE: How does Mike Evans' injury impact the Buccaneers' WR depth chart?
What has happened to Cade Otton this season?
One thing is for sure: he's been a non-factor despite playing over 86 percent of the offensive snaps, and that has yielded just seven targets for three receptions.
Is it the scheme under Josh Grizzard? Did Liam Coen last year feature Cade in the passing game more than what Grizzard is doing? Or is Otton's role different from last season, being asked to be more of a blocking tight end?
Either way, the drop-off, at least from a statistical perspective, has been huge.
Will that change now that Evans is out for the next couple of weeks? Maybe, but something is amiss here after Cade produced a career-best season in 2024, only to be non-existent in the passing game in 2025.
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