As Cade Otton’s future with the Bucs continues to hang in the balance, Tampa Bay has been doing its homework on several tight end prospects at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. That includes Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek.

Kacmarek was one of the 14 tight ends the Bucs met with in Indy and also one of the seven reported formal interviews the team had at the position. The 6-foot-5, 262-pounder out of St. Louis, Missouri, is a prototypical “Y” tight end with a Day 3 projection in this year’s draft. There’s plenty to like about him, but it’s his commitment to being a ferocious force as a blocker that stands alone as his best trait.

Kacmarek spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Ohio, then spent the last two years at Ohio State, where he was a part of the Buckeyes’ national championship-winning season in 2024. The constant for him over the years was the improvement he showed as a blocker, with his Pro Football Focus grades climbing each season.

Ohio State TE Will Kacmarek – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Jacob Musselman

As a pass blocker, he built from a 64.1 grade as a freshman to a 66.4 grade as a sophomore. He then jumped up to a 68.0 in his first year at Ohio State before posting a 72.2 mark as a senior. In, run blocking he went from a 53.2 to a 69.4 from his freshman to his sophomore year at Ohio. He stuck right around there in his first year in Columbus with a 68.8, then finished his career with a 71.0 in 2025. It’s clear that blocking was something the young tight end worked at and shaped into a major strength of his game.

“Doing so can separate yourself and I think it’s a big part of why I’m here right now,” Kacmarek said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday. “I just love doing it and doing the dirty work and I think it’s fulfilling to do that, knowing that you can impose your will on another player all game.”

So, what does it take to build yourself into a high-end blocker as a tight end? For Kacmarek, he said it’s as simple as having the right mentality about it.

“I just think it’s your mentality, how you attack every play,” he said. “You can’t change that if you’re up 40 or down 40. Just your mentality and just the way you can impose your will on another player [is the most important thing].”

Just look to the following rep Kacmarek had against Michigan’s Derrick Moore for a glimpse into that level of attack mode he’s talking about. There’s a reason this is one of the top reps that come to mind for many when it comes to his college tape, and it’s the one he pointed to during his media session at the Combine as the best of his career thus far:

Bucs leadership often talks about how they’re not just drafting players – they’re drafting people. That’s why, dating back several years, you’ll see draft classes full of former team captains, coaches’ kids and all-around high-character guys. So, as an Ohio State scholar-athlete who majored in human development and family services and as a two-year team captain in high school, Kacmarek fits the bill for the type of person the team likes. And when you listen to him speak, you get the sense that he’s a chill, laid-back type of guy. And really, that’s what he is – off the field.

On the field, he can flip a switch and play with an edge. That goes back to the mentality he talked about needing as a blocker in the run game.

Ohio State TE Will Kacmarek – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Junfu Han

“I have a switch on the field. I play fairly aggressive and to the end of the whistle,” Kacmarek said. “Off the field, I’m a pretty genuine guy. I don’t really have too many enemies off the field. I’m pretty friendly, I’ll talk to you or whatever. I think I just have a good switch that I understand how to control.”

Is Will Kacmarek A Fit For The Bucs On Day 3?

If Cade Otton prices himself out of Tampa Bay or the team simply chooses to move on from him, tight end suddenly becomes a pretty glaring need on the roster. That’s why it makes sense to entertain the possibility of the Bucs going with Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in the first round. But with more pressing needs on defense, particularly at outside linebacker and inside linebacker, the need for a tight end is likely to fall farther down the priority list.

That could mean looking for a tight end on Day 2 of the draft or likely even Day 3. Tampa Bay met with a whole lot of Day 2 and 3 tight ends at the NFL Combine, and if it does end up being a Day 3 priority, that’s where Will Kacmarek could come into play. Is he a fit?

New Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson comes from the Sean McVay system out with the Rams in Los Angeles, and that’s a system that relies on more traditional “Y” tight ends. With that in mind, Kacmarek is in the right mold and could be an option to potentially replace Otton and join a room that includes Payne Durham (entering a contract year) and Devin Culp (a seventh-round pick heading into Year 3).

Kacmarek can certainly do the dirty work as a blocker, but is there reason to worry about the lack of receiving production over the years?

Ohio State TE Will Kacmarek – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Adam Cairns

In his first year on the field with Ohio, Kacmarek caught 20 passes for 264 yards (13.2 avg.). He then caught 22 passes for 243 yards (11.0 avg.) and two touchdowns in his final year with the Bobcats. From there, he put up only eight catches for 86 yards (10.8 avg.) at Ohio State in 2024 before finishing his college career with 15 catches for 168 yards (11.2 avg.) and two touchdowns in 2025 while Max Klare, who is a better receiving tight end and a Day 2 prospect, was featured more in the passing game.

That’s… not a lot of proven production as a pass-catcher. But Kacmarek obviously wasn’t asked to be a central figure within his teams’ passing games, and he wouldn’t be asked to play a role like that in Tampa Bay either. The fact is, he has reliable hands. He can catch what is thrown to him and while he isn’t a threat for much after-the-catch action, he can be the zone-beating outlet the Bucs would need him to be.

Remember, Otton was a fourth-round pick out of Washington with production that was marginally better than Kacmarek’s was between Ohio and Ohio State, but Otton was also a work in progress as a blocker. He worked his way into being a solid all-around tight end, and while there might be more room for Kacmarek to grow on the pass-catching end of things in order to become that all-around “Y” tight end, he has a head start in the blocking game.