Cade Otton has been the NFL’s best tight end over the last four weeks of the season.
The former Washington Huskies star, whose younger brother Ryan is currently on Washington’s roster, has enjoyed a career-best stretch for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the last month as the team deals with injuries to wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Otton’s college teammate, Jalen McMillan.
Coming into his third season in the NFL, Otton had been targeted ten or more times in a game only once, in Tampa Bay’s Wild Card matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the last four games, he’s cleared that bar three times. His 30 receptions in that span is second among all tight ends, and the 293 yards he’s generated on those catches leads the position over that stretch.
Otton has won just about every way there is over the last month, as his 137 yards after the catch and 8 contested catches both lead tight ends from Weeks 7-10. The former Husky has also found the end zone three times in the last four games, second-best among tight ends.
And, if you have Otton in fantasy football, you’re reaping the rewards. He’s been the highest-scoring tight end in PPR leagues over the last four weeks.
Tampa Bay is on bye in Week 11, after which they expect that Evans and McMillan will be healthy enough to return, while (Godwin is out for the season). But even so, Otton has proven that he deserves a bigger role in the Buccaneers offense when the team is at full strength, which should also position him for a hefty contract extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.
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