The Bucs’ selection of Washington tight end Cade Otton puts Otton in a unique position. Most players drafted in the fourth round don’t have an immediate pathway to start. Depending on the future of Rob Gronkowski, Otton just might have that shot this year.

Tampa Bay took Otton with the opening pick of the fourth round. The Washington tight end has a solid combo of blocking and receiving. The Bucs’ other tight ends on the roster – Cameron Brate and Codey McElroy – either have one or the other. Otton has the versatility to do both.

“I’d say my versatility,” Otton said when asked what his best attribute is. “In college I was trusted to do pretty much everything you can do at the tight end position. Whether that was in-line blocking, running routes outside, blocking in space, blocking from the fullback position, and all sorts of routes and sell. I think I can offer all those things to the team and bring a lot of versatility to the tight end position. I know they have other guys like that. I think this could be a really good think for the offense and the team as a whole.”

The 6-foot-5, 247-pound Otton has the frame to get bigger. He was certainly a big part of the Huskies offense where he caught 91 passes for 1,026 (11.3 avg.) and nine touchdowns in his career. Otton didn’t have the benefit of great quarterback play at Washington, but he certainly will in Tampa Bay with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady throwing him the ball.

Familiar Friends In Tampa

Bucs/Washington edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo courtesy of Washington

He won’t be alone either when he comes arrives in Tampa. The Bucs are flush with former Washington Huskies on the roster. Vita Vea, Benning Potoa’e and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who is good friends with the rookie, are already in Tampa Bay.

“It’s amazing to join some of my former teammates,” Otton said. “I think it says a lot about them that the Bucs trusted me with how well they’ve done there and how big of a part of the culture they’ve been. Joe is a great friend of mine and we’ve had a lot of battles in practice. He’s obviously a really great player – tough, physical,  athletic and I think he’d say we had a lot of great battles and that I’m tough and that I have good technique and try to get after it a lot, too. I’m really looking forward to getting with him again and having more battles and then getting to be on the same team with him again is super awesome.”

Hoping To Wear The Hat

Funny enough, Otton was already wearing a Bucs hat when he spoke with us on via Zoom. He was given one by the team when they interviewed him during the pre-draft process. Otton was hoping the Bucs would draft him.

“They gave me one at the Combine after my interview,”  Otton said. “And so I held onto it with fingers crossed that the time would come and I was ready. It was great stuff overall.

“It’s hard not to kind of pick favorites because you have to wait a long time even though you don’t get a choice. Just me and my wife would talk and the Bucs would always be like, ‘Yeah, we want to go there really bad.’ Just really a dream come true, my family and I are so happy. Really excited to get to work.”