The University of Washington has sneakily been producing NFL talent at the tight end position with players like Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Will Dissly, and Drew Sample. Cade Otton has the potential to be the next NFL quality tight end to come out of the Husky football program. Cade Otton was a 3-star prospect and ranked the number 23 tight end nationally in the 2017 class by 247 sports. He also played linebacker in high school.
He redshirted his freshman year, making 2018 his first year as a collegiate producer. The Husky offense focused on feeding Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed the rock in 2018. Even so, Cade Otton earned his way onto the field and finished the year with 13 receptions for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The following season showcased Otton’s consistency as a pass catcher. He hauled in 32 receptions for 344 yards and had 3 or more receptions in 8 of the 11 games he played. Otton maintained a high catch rate of 74.40% per PlayerProfiler stats.
2020 was his breakout season but will look weird on paper due to the PAC-12’s late start. In the 4 games the Huskies played, Otton led the team in receptions (18), yards (258), and receiving touchdowns (3). There wasn’t a single other player on the team with 10 or more receptions. However, his final season was marred with injuries and Covid related issues. He missed 4 games, but still finished the season with a 10.50% target share.
Cade Otton was selected in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Otton’s workout metrics are a black box. He lands in a spot where he could have the starting role as Brate gets older. For now, he’ll be second on the depth chart and probably won’t have much value. When Brady leaves, it’s also going to be risky to try and trust him as a starting asset because we won’t know who replaces Brady.
