Read-Option: Are Two TEs Worth The Price?

This week’s read-option question has two parts, so maybe it’s more of a triple option because you’ll have to make one decision and then another.

The first is with Cameron Brate. Is he worth the money to you? Knowing that the Buccaneers still have to sign wide receiver Mike Evans and quarterback Jameis Winston over the next two season, is Brate’s money worth it as well? Tampa Bay is pretty healthy in cap room and have budgeted for Winston and Evans’ deals, but signing Brate to a lucrative extension will still go on the books and might limit who they can bring in beyond Winston and Evans in future offseasons.

Bucs TE Cam Brate – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Right now OverTheCap had Brate’s market value (which takes in age and production into account) at a 5-year, 36-million deal paying out about 7.2 million per season. That would make Brate the 10th-highest paid tight end in the NFL.

Worth it?

Next let’s open up the door for what you would do with Howard. We saw some of the pros an cons with Howard in his rookie year in his current state. For one, he’s pretty technically sound already, so that’s good. But, and this might depend on what you’d do with Brate, would you rather see Howard get closer to the Travis Kelce-Rob Gronkoski 260-265 weight or do you like him with the speed he has at the weight he’s at?

Finally, with Koetter coming back, the 2-TE offense isn’t going anywhere, but how would you like to see it used? Do you like how vertical it is? Would you rather it feature shorter routes? Do you think more play action is in order or more help in the run game? What did you see from the 2-TE offense this year that you like and what do you hope to see more of with it in 2018?