Beimfohr tagged Cade Otton as a “run-all-the-routes” safety valve who is essentially free at the end of drafts. Otton has been quiet in camp, but there is no Week-1 concern and Tampa projects to let him handle full-time snaps. Even as the fourth or fifth option in the target tree, Otton’s route volume gives him a realistic path to the 4-40-1 type lines that prevent a Best-Ball zero at tight end. The bottom line: Otton costs nothing, never leaves the field, and any touchdown spike becomes immediately lineup-usable in TE-premium playoff weeks.

Pat Kerrane suggested Cade Otton as an emergency third tight end because he is virtually guaranteed to run every route for Tampa Bay once healthy. While Otton profiles as the Buccaneers’ fourth or even fifth target behind the backfield, he can still stumble into 4-for-40-and-a-TD lines that swing Best Ball advance rates. For a player available at the end of drafts, the promise of full-time snaps and the ability to sidestep a zero in bye weeks is enough value to secure him over flashier but lower-route options.

Geoff Ulrich called Cade Otton a screaming value in TD-only leagues. Baker Mayfield just authored a 41-TD season and the Buccaneers carry a 9.5 win total, yet Otton is free in drafts despite scoring four TDs in each of the past two seasons. Those eight combined scores out-paced Trey McBride and Travis Kelce last year and trailed only Brock Bowers by one in PPR leagues. Ulrich believes Otton’s 6'5" frame will again earn him priority looks inside the 10 even with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and first-rounder Emeka Egbuka on the field, giving drafters a potential top-five positional finisher at almost no cost.

Nez endorsed Cade Otton as the preferred TE3 in Eliminator builds, passing on Darren Waller’s higher variance profile. Otton logged an 84% route participation rate over the final six weeks of 2023 and finished seventh among tight ends in total routes (568), a usage level Nez expects to remain intact with Todd Bowles retaining Dave Canales’s pass-heavy concepts. Waller, meanwhile, turns 33 and has averaged just 7.8 fantasy points in his last 18 active games, making him a bet on age-defying outlier production. Because Eliminator formats only require one tight end and reward weekly steadiness, Nez values Otton’s locked-in volume over Waller’s brittle upside. He believes Otton can provide consistent 8-12 point weeks at a dirt-cheap ADP, freeing drafters to allocate earlier capital to premium positions.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound pushed Cade Otton as an every-draft target in the 170s. He pointed to Otton’s iron-man usage—96% route participation after returning from injury and zero games below 80% snaps when healthy—as rare for any tight end, let alone one going in the 15th round. Pat noted that Tampa ran 12 personnel last season but still refused to take Otton off the field, calling him a "do-it-all TE the coaches trust." With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both carrying sixth-round price tags, Otton provides cheap leverage on a Buccaneers offense that ranked fifth in red-zone pass rate. Pat’s thesis: the minute Otton converts a couple of those end-zone looks, his 170-plus ADP will look comical.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said Cade Otton is flat-out mis-priced, noting that he consistently falls roughly 30 draft spots after Kyle Pitts despite offering far steadier weekly usage. Pat reminded viewers that Otton was a 96% snap player whenever healthy last season, missing only three games, and that Tampa quietly kept him in a full-time route role even when they went heavy personnel. In contrast, Pitts is still a mediocre run blocker stuck on a ground-heavy Atlanta roster. Because the Buccaneers have no established No. 3 wideout and routinely use Otton as an outlet for Baker Mayfield, Pat has made Otton his most-rostered tight end in early best-ball rooms and is comfortable grabbing him 2–3 rounds ahead of current ADP whenever he has already missed on the top tier.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound highlighted Cade Otton at pick 186 as an underrated way to buy into Tampa Bay’s ‘powerful offense’ on the cheap. With Mike Evans and Chris Godwin commanding defensive attention—and expensive ADPs—Otton becomes the affordable leverage piece who can siphon red-zone looks from Baker Mayfield. Pat likes pairing Otton with Buccaneers or Panthers players for the indoor Week 16 rematch that could shoot out if Bryce Young takes a step. Given that elite tight ends are gone by Round 15, Pat thinks Otton’s every-down snap share (he ran a route on 78 percent of drop-backs after Week 10 last season) makes him a priority third tight end over fringe WR6 types that rarely crack starting lineups.