NFC South Position Rankings: TE

The Bucs have the youngest tight end group in the NFL, let alone the NFC South. Cade Otton is technically the veteran of the group by virtue of being drafted a few hours before Ko Kieft. Otton is coming off of a solid rookie campaign where he established himself as the more reliable starting option down the stretch. Otton ended the season with a 56.6 PFF grade.

But there are still serious questions on whether he can be anything more than a replacement-level starter in the NFL. And when he is by far the best option and there is little competition pushing him for the starting role, you have easily the worst tight end group in the NFC South.

With youth comes potential. And Otton provides plenty of potential. You could see it in spurts last year as he made several clutch catches late in games. These were often big plays on long seam routes, or game winning scores, as was the case against New Orleans on Monday Night Football.

Otton has shown some promise as a receiver but will need to show he can play a more consistent role throughout the game. The new system offensive coordinator Dave Canales is implementing isn’t just quarterback-friendly but is tight end-friendly as well and should give Otton those opportunities. But while there is potential Otton will need to improve in several facets of his game. He ranked 33rd in catch rate (66.7%), 24th in yards after catch (4.5) and 36th in average depth of target.

Rookie Payne Durham figures to be the likely No. 2 in this room. Durham is a more accomplished college pass catcher than Kieft and is known as a solid blocker to give him a more well-rounded skill set. The Bucs are hopeful that Durham’s penchant for making tough contested catches and his penchant for being a goal line threat translate to the NFL level, giving them a perfect complement for Otton’s yards after catch ability.

Finally, Kieft should slot in as the blocking H-back/third tight end that he served so well in last year. He was solid, if unspectacular as a blocker in both the run and pass game, while proving to be a pleasant surprise as a pass catcher. Kieft hauled in seven of his ten targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. Kieft may see more opportunities in the Bucs revamped offense this year.

The Bucs room is probably the hardest to peg down and projects to have the most variance in outcomes. Otton could take a big leap, Kieft could shine in the new offense and Durham could live up to his tough catch reputation. Or all three could be the victims of growing pains due to their youth and inexperience without a seasoned veteran to help them develop. Ultimately, while the most reasonable place to put them within the NFC South is fourth, I could easily see them jumping a spot…or maybe even two by year’s end.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the NFC South sports a wide variety of tight end rooms. From the uber-talented, to the diverse, to the solid but uninspiring, to the young and unproven. It makes for a very interesting evaluation. But ultimately the hierarchy of this position group within the NFC South is fairly two-tiered with the Falcons and Saints holding a clear advantage over the Panthers and Bucs.