FAB 4. Brate Is Bucs’ Secret Weapon

Shhhh. I’ve got a secret.

Bucs tight end Cameron Brate very well could be the team’s secret weapon on offense this year.

Despite being a household name in Tampa Bay and across the league due to his red zone prowess, Brate has been the unheralded star of training camp in 2020.

Bucs TEs Cameron Brate and OJ Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The seven-year pro out of Harvard has been the forgotten man in an offense that features Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, tight end O.J. Howard, the Bucs’ former first-round pick in 2017, and new tight end Rob Gronkowski, a five-time Pro Bowler and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

And that’s just the way Brate likes it.

As defensive coordinators will prioritize stopping the likes of Evans, Gronkowski, Godwin and Howard in the red zone with their premium defenders, Brate figures to see better match-ups against lesser opponents one-on-one.

And that’s just the way Brate wants it.

Because new quarterback Tom Brady is excellent at finding the mismatches during his pre-snap reads, he won’t hesitate to throw the ball to Brate, even though he’s lower down the pecking order of Tampa Bay’s hierarchy of offensive weaponry. Just like he had a tremendous red zone rapport with Jameis Winston, Brate is creating a similar chemistry in practice with Brady, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to him in the end zone in last week’s scrimmage at Raymond James Stadium.

“He’s really been fun to work with and I really love having Cam as a teammate,” Brady said. “I met him when I first got out here and had always kind of watched him from afar. He’s in the NFC playing for the Bucs while I was in the AFC East, but you always pay attention to the other great players in the league and are always watching players that are just that – been in the league for a while, they’re real pros, consistent, dependable.”

Bucs TE Cameron Brate – Photo by: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s been a few years since Brate’s best season in 2016 when he caught 57 passes for 660 yards and eight touchdowns. Since then his production has declined as he’s battled back, rib and hip injuries. Brate played the entire season with a torn labrum in his hip in 2018, and was limited to just 30 catches for 289 yards (9.6 avg.) that season. Although he recovered from hip surgery in the 2019 offseason, he still wasn’t the same last year, as he caught 36 passes for 311 yards and his 8.6-yard average was the lowest of his career.

But Brate, who took a $2 million pay cut and saw his salary reduced to $4 million, spent the offseason getting into tremendous shape and came to camp feeling great and moving around as good as he has since the 2017 season. Brate looks quicker and faster and his hands are as good as ever.

“Yeah, he’s having a good camp,” Howard said. “He’s making plays for us. He’s always been helpful for us when it comes down to being a second set of eyes and ears on certain things, with helping us with the playbook and whatnot. I always have appreciated him for that, but I’m definitely seeing him play really fast and making some plays. It’s really good to see that. He’s moving real, real well and looking good. I think the hip surgery and some of those things are well behind him now.”

Despite the declining production over the last two years, Brate has remained a red zone threat for the Bucs, catching six touchdowns in 2018 despite the bad hip, and posting four scores last year as Howard’s backup. Since 2016, Brate ranks fourth among NFL tight ends in receiving touchdowns with 24, which is 10 more TDs than Gronkowski has over that span (Gronkowski was retired during the 2019 season).

Most Tight End TDs Since 2016

Kansas City TE Travis Kelce – 27
Philadelphia TE Zach Ertz – 26
Minnesota TE Kyle Rudolph – 25
Tampa Bay TE Cameron Brate – 24
Seattle/Green Bay TE – Jimmy Graham – 21
Detroit/Indianapolis TE Eric Ebron – 21
Green Bay/Oakland/New Orleans TE Jared Cook – 18
San Diego/Los Angeles TE Hunter Henry – 17
Atlanta TE Austin Hooper – 16
Indianapolis TE Jack Doyle – 15
New England TE Rob Gronkowski – 14
Arizona/Detroit/Cleveland/Houston TE Darren Fells – 14

Bucs’ multiple TE set – Photo by: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Brate has been Tampa Bay’s No. 2 tight end since Howard’s arrival in 2017. Now that Brate is essentially No. 3 on the depth chart behind Gronkowski and Howard, what will his role be in 2020? With the Bucs planning on using a lot of 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends, two receivers) and a fair amount of 13 personnel (one back, three tight ends, one receiver) this year, Brate figures to see more playing time than you might expect.

Howard will likely see the most snaps of Tampa Bay’s tight ends, as the team will try to limit the playing time of the oft-injured Gronkowski to try to preserve him to play in all four quarters for all 16 games this year. Gronkowski averaged 900 snaps per season in his last three years in New England. There is no way his body will hold up at that rate at age 31 playing in the sweltering heat and humidity in Tampa’s sub-tropical climate.

Limiting Gronkowski to 600 snaps during the 2020 campaign – or about 37 snaps per game – is wise, especially with Howard and Brate around to help shoulder the load, in addition to Antony Auclair, the Bucs’ fourth-string tight end, whose role is that of a primary blocker. Howard will likely lead the way again with 800-plus snaps, which is what he played last year, while Brate should see at least 400 snaps as a reserve.

2019 Snaps
Brate 478
Howard 857

2018 Snaps
Brate 592
Howard 454
Gronkowski (New England) 843

2017 Snaps
Brate 590
Howard 655
Gronkowski (New England) 908

2016 Snaps
Brate 817
Gronkowski (New England) 354

2015 Snaps
Brate 452
Gronkowski (New England) 950

If the Bucs practices are any indication, Brate’s role will continue to be one that is featured in and around the red zone and end zone in Tampa Bay’s multiple-tight end sets. Whether it’s lining up as an inline blocker, flexed in the slot or lining up in the backfield as an H-back/fullback, Brate definitely has a place in Bruce Arians’ offense this year.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You’ll be seeing more of No. 84 than you think you will this season.

“I think Cam plays a lot of different roles for us and embraces all of those,” Brady said. “He just does a tremendous job. I can’t say enough good things about him and really, all the tight ends this camp have done a great job. They’re working their butts off and we’ve got a really strong group there – and we’re going to need it. That’s a great position to have a lot of depth at, and we’ve got a lot of playmakers and guys that could really do great things in the run game and in the pass game. It’s a really great position for us.”

Brate is excited to feel as healthy as he has in several years, and didn’t see the addition of Gronkowski as a demotion when the Bucs traded for the three-time Super Bowl champion this offseason.

“I think the first thing he brought was his great jokes and his personality,” Brate said of Gronkowski. “To go along with that, just his passion for the game – it’s infectious. Even just doing drills, he’s laughing. He just makes practice more fun. Football-wise, Rob is one of the best tight ends of all-time – someone I really looked up to when I was in college up in the northeast there.

“Just his wealth of experience and being able to watch the way he plays and picking up on some of the little things that he does that set him apart has been super useful. It’s something that O.J. [Howard] and I have talked about almost every day. Little things that we notice that he did that were like, ‘Oh, never really seen someone do that.’ Small stuff like that is going to definitely boost our games.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Brady has developed an amazing rapport with both Howard and Brate in the short time he’s worked with both tight ends. Although he has a long history with Gronkowski dating back to their time together in New England, Gronk is going to be double-teamed quite a bit in the red zone due to his status as one of the league’s best tight ends. That’s going to make Brate’s job easier as a silent, red zone assassin this season.

Don’t be surprised to see Brate challenge Howard and Gronkowski for the most touchdowns from the tight end position this year.

“There is definitely a little bit of a friendly competition between all of us – fighting for targets in practice and working together in the run-game as well,” Brate said. “It’s just been awesome.”