TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton stays in the flames while the team has gone cold, losing three straight games.
With eight catches against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, Otton became the first tight end in Buccaneers history to catch at least eight passes in three straight games.
Offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs had quite the reaction to that stat.
“Really? Freak. Super happy for him. He’s balling,” Wirfs said. “Cade prepares his (butt) off. He’s comfortable out there. He can fly around.”
“It’s all Cade, a special player,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “He’s so smart; he knows where to be. He knows exactly where to be, knows what we’re trying to get done within whatever scheme we’re calling.”
Over the last three games, Otton hauled in 25 of 31 targets for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
Mayfield has relied heavily on Otton while he’s missing injured wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.
“His route-running, it’s not that he couldn’t do it, I don’t think we’ve asked him to do it because we had the other guys out there doing it,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “Just asking him to step more in a receiver role you really see his route running prowess and his precision.”
“In man-to-man coverage, he’s just doing a good job of winning,” Mayfield added. “In the zone stuff, he’s understanding the soft spots in the zone, the timing of where he is at in the progression. That’s a big part of it.”
Otton is a secret weapon no more. Opposing teams know he is Mayfield’s go-to guy, but he continues to put up big numbers.
“Intelligence in football does a lot for you,” Mayfield said. “At this level, you have to be physically gifted, but intelligence take you to the next level. Cade has that.”
With nine games to play, Otton is just three receptions shy of the career-high 44 he caught last season.
The Bucs (4-5) will host the San Francisco 49ers (4-4) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
