Otton emerging as reliable target for Mayfield in absence of injured receivers

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Cade Otton is showing the rest of the NFL the type of offensive weapon the Tampa Bay Buccaneers always felt he could become.

The third-year tight end, generally regarded as a strong blocker, has emerged over the past month as a reliable go-to target for Baker Mayfield in the absence of injured wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

And even with Evans (hamstring) possibly returning to the lineup after this week’s bye, the Bucs (4-6) probably will need to keep Otton heavily involved in the passing attack to enhance their chances of pulling out of a tailspin during which they have lost five of six games following a 3-1 start.

Through the first 10 games, the 2022 fourth-round draft pick out of Washington has already established career bests for receptions (49) and yard receiving (456) while matching his previous high for TDs with four.

“Seeing the way Mike and Chris have operated my whole time here, I just try and step up in their place,” said Otton, who had 47 catches for 455 yards and four TDs in 17 games last year.

“Obviously, they’re a huge part of our offense and will be whenever they come back, but I think just as a group, we really challenged ourselves ... as a collective to raise our game,” Otton added. “Personally, I wanted to do that, and also as a group, I think we’re working hard to do that.”

Mayfield is tied with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow for the NFL lead with 24 touchdown passes. He cites Otton’s toughness and football intelligence as key components of the tight end’s success.

“Cade’s a guy ... when we have Mike and Chris out there, the offense just looks different," Mayfield said. "You’re scheming things up for those guys, and Cade does a lot of the dirty work. Right now, he is being able to showcase his physical talent.

“He’s such a smart player, unselfish guy, but he understands in some of these zone coverages what he’s supposed to do, where he’s supposed to attack it, and you’re seeing him thrive because of that.”

With Evans and Godwin off to strong starts through the first six weeks of the season, Otton often seemed like a forgotten man in first-year offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s system.

The 6-foot-4, 247-pound tight end had three or fewer receptions four times in the first six games, including one catch for 5 yards in a season-opening win over Washington and none in a Week 2 road win at Detroit.

Since Evans and Godwin, who’s out for the season after undergoing surgery for a dislocated ankle, were lost during a 41-31 loss to Baltimore on Oct. 21, Otton has become Mayfield’s favorite target with 30 receptions for 293 yards and three TDs over the past four games — all losses.

“I know my production has been up the past few weeks. But the biggest thing I go back to is the win-loss column, and I’m definitely not satisfied with where we’ve been,” Otton said of the past four games. "We’re going to do anything we can to change that around.

"If my production goes down and we win, I’ll be much happier.”

Coach Todd Bowles said the biggest growth he has seen in the 25-year-old’s game has been Otton's route running.

“Not that he couldn’t do it. I don’t think we asked him to do it because we had the other guys out there doing it," Bowles said. “So, just asking him to step up in a receiver role, you really see his route-running prowess and his precision.”

Evans is a 10-time 1,000-yard receiver as well as the franchise’s career scoring and receiving leader. Godwin is a four-time 1,000-yard receiver who was leading the league in receptions when he was injured. Evans had six TDs and Godwin had five to rank among league leaders.

Bowles said again this week that the Bucs are hopeful Evans will be able to return to the lineup as soon as Nov. 24 against the New York Giants.

Coen is confident Otton’s will continue to thrive when Evans and other playmakers slowed by injuries get healthy.

“It’s a great thing for him, for me, for our offense to know that we’ve got another guy we can rely on to make plays,” Coen said.

Otton remains focused on doing anything he can to help the Bucs, who've won the past three NFC South titles and made four straight playoff appearances, turn the season around.

“We know we can beat the best teams in the league, and we see ourselves as being up there. We just have to prove it. We have to find ways to win,” Otton said. "There’s an urgency there, but we’re not breaking apart or anything. We’re not pointing fingers.

“We’re just going back to work and doing anything we can to find a way to win.”