Bucs rookie tight end Cade Otton has had a bit of an uphill battle to cement himself as a key contributor for the 2023 squad.

Otton missed rookie mini-camp due to an ankle injury he sustained late in his final year at Washington. That injury forced Otton to miss OTAs as well. But on the eve of training camp, good news came Otton’s way as he was cleared to participate fully in practice.

But just as soon as that was announced, it also broke that the Bucs would be signing veteran Kyle Rudolph to help fill the massive void left by the retirement of future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski. Rudolph will compete with Cameron Brate for the starter role. The loser of that battle would slot into the No. 2 spot. That leaves Otton competing with fellow draft pick Ko Kieft for the TE3 roster spot. But maybe we shouldn’t count the former Huskie out from rising up the ranks.

Otton Impressing In Camp

It seems Otton is impressing quite a few people, starting with head coach Todd Bowles.

“Cade’s a very cerebral player. You won’t see all the speed and power, but then you look up and he’s always doing the right things,” Bowles said. “He’s always in the right place, he has great hands, he understands how to play the game. I think that a lot of young players don’t have that. He has that coming in, so that’s going to benefit him going forward. Obviously, schematically he’s got to get that down. He’ll probably get a little stronger in the weight room. He hasn’t been healthy long enough to really be in the true program. As the program goes along, I expect him to help us.”

Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert sounded pleasantly surprised with Otton when talking to Pewter Report’s J.C. Allen recently.

“Surprisingly, I think we’ve all been really shocked he’s holding the point of attack as far as the run game and as protection goes,” Gilbert said. “And obviously, he’s a good athlete and can play in space.”

If you think Gilbert is just hyping the rookie up, take a look for yourself on this rep against outside linebacker Anthony Nelson.

#Bucs Cade Otton vs Anthony Nelson pic.twitter.com/L3KgchbNMz

— Kasey Hudson (@TheSportsKase) August 1, 2022

Blocking Skills Laying The Foundation For Playing Time

The blocking skills Gilbert referenced will be key to getting Otton on the field come Sept. 11. The Bucs have not been shy about noting the importance of blocking for their tight ends. It’s part of the reason the team courted Gronkowski in 2020 despite having two good tight ends on the roster at the time in O.J. Howard and Brate. It’s why they went out and signed Rudolph this year. And that has clearly been impressed upon Otton. He himself has said it’s been an area where he feels like he has stood out the most.

“I feel like I’ve started out blocking pretty well. It’s just a lot of details you need to clean up on,” Otton said. “Whether it’s getting out of your breaks a little faster versus really good DBs or being physical at the top of routes or releases. I feel like there’s everything I can get better at and just have to keep growing.”

If Otton can continue to show he is a plus blocker, he may get on the field more than most think early. And then if he can incorporate plays like this at the NFL level, he may cut into Rudolph and Brate’s snaps by the end of the year – or sooner.