With less than seven weeks left before the regular season arrives, we are winding down on ranking season. Pro Football Focus just released their top 32 tight end rankings headed into the 2026 season, and they are not very high on Bucs starter Cade Otton.

Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick place Otton 29th on their list. The justification? He’s fine, but is he good?

PFF Analysts Low on Cade Otton

Wasserman and Chadwick’s don’t note any negatives in Otton’s game, but they don’t exactly sing his praises either. An apt description of their analysis is noting his consistency.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

“Otton was one of the more sure-handed tight ends in the league this past season, dropping just two of his 61 catchable targets. That’s allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield to trust him a lot over the past two seasons, as his 1,172 receiving yards since 2024 are 11th in the NFL.”

The PFF analysts note Otton’s reliability as a pass catcher and that he ranks surprisingly high in volume. There is an unwritten undertone to their writeup that he doesn’t do anything well but is an okay receiving threat.

The Missing Part of the Equation

Tight ends are not just responsible for catching the ball. It’s the flashy part of the job. It’s easier to quantify and compare on paper. But it is far from the only part of their game. Without incorporating analysis surrounding a tight end’s blocking or how they open up or limit offensive scheme and strategy then the rankings are incomplete at best.

And here’s the thing. PFF’s rankings only cite blocking analysis on nine of the 32 players they profile. Just nine! And Otton’s ability as a blocker is not mentioned at all. That’s a tragedy because it has become one of the best parts of his game. Among all tight ends with at least 600 blocking snaps over the past two seasons Otton sits 10th out of 25 – the 64th percentile. The analysis is not referencing, or seemingly accounting for at all, a big portion of his game.

The article doesn’t reference scheme fit or limitations at all. And that’s another area that should be considered when putting together these lists (or better than a true ranking list a tiers list). If a player can only play the F, or move tight end role, it limits the offense, effectively making him only available in 12 personnel. If a tight end can only work as a blocker on doubles, then wide zone runs are taken out of the offense. If he can only attack the short area of the field, it limits his route tree and caps the route combinations around him.

Optionality in and of itself is a weapon when it comes to this position. This is one of multiple areas that would elevate him above his near bottom-of-the-barrel ranking. He is 17th in deep targets over the past two seasons. He’s 11th in yards after catch per reception and 8th in missed tackle forced rate. All fo these should be factored into Otton’s impact on the field but has seemingly been missed in this analysis.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: IMAGN Images

The Counter “Ranking”

The following is now 100% my own opinion. But here is my own assessment of the current landscape of the position and where the Bucs starter falls. Within the tier there are arguments for any order. Went with the top 32 in my estimation while trying to account for everything I mentioned above.

Tier One (6)

Trey McBride, George Kittle, Tucker Kraft, Colston Loveland, Brock Bowers, Sam LaPorta

Tier Two (5)

Brenton Strange, Kyle Pitts, Tyler Warren, Colby Parkinson, A.J. Barner

Tier Three (10)

Darnell Washington, Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Cade Otton, Harold Fannin Jr., Travis Kelce, Juwan Johnson, T.J. Hockenson, Dawson Knox, Pat Freiermuth

Tier Four (7)

Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, David Njoku, Hunter Henry, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, Cole Kmet

Tier Five (4)

Terrance Ferguson, Theo Johnson, Chig Okonkwo, Oronde Gadsden Jr.

This would put Otton somewhere between 12th and 21st within that wide band of tier three, with me placing him within the tier at what would be 15th in a traditional rankings list. A sure-handed target who can get open, run every route you would want a tight end to run, can run screens and block well. That’s a valuable piece of an offense and a league-average tight end in this heyday of the position. Not a bottom-of-the-barrel starter.