Bucs Monday Mailbag: Can Otton Be TE1? Biggest Obstacle In ’22?

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Monday Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Monday Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: What does Cade Otton need to do to win TE1 job?

ANSWER: The Bucs really like Cade Otton’s tape at Washington. They view him as a prototype Y tight end – a player that can be a receiving target in the passing game and an in-line blocker. While he certainly doesn’t have the physical tools that future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski has, Otton should be a better version of Cameron Brate when he gains experience.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, what does Otton have to do to become Tampa Bay’s starting tight end, replacing the retired Gronkowski? The team’s fourth-round pick has to get healthy and stay healthy. Otton missed the entire offseason recovering from ankle surgery from last fall. He should be cleared to participate in training camp. Otton took a lot of mental reps during the OTAs and mini-camp, but he needs to get used to contact at the NFL level. And he needs to develop chemistry with the Bucs’ quarterbacks.

For Otton to supplant Brate as the team’s starter, he’ll need to have a strong grasp of the playbook and the basics – alignment and assignment. Once he has proven to the coaches – and to Tom Brady – that he can be reliable, Otton should wind up starting ahead of Brate sooner or later.

To really see some playing time, Otton also needs to keep hitting the weight room and get stronger as an in-line blocker. At Washington, he relied more on technique and being a positional blocker rather than strength and brute force. That type of strength might not come until 2023 when he can devote an entire offseason to strength program.

QUESTION: What is the Bucs’ biggest obstacle in winning another Super Bowl?

ANSWER: The easy answer is beating the Saints in the division and the Rams in the conference. Tampa Bay is 0-7 against the Saints in the last seven games against New Orleans. The Bucs are 0-3 in their last three games against the Los Angeles Rams, including a loss in the NFC Divisional playoffs last year. But that’s not the biggest obstacle.

The biggest obstacle is the team’s health. The Bucs suffered a rash of injuries at cornerback throughout most of the year followed by injuries at wide receiver late in the season. Tampa Bay’s offensive line got banged up in the playoffs and that contributed to the loss to L.A. – the eventual Super Bowl LVI champion.

It’s no coincidence that the Bucs’ two Super Bowl seasons came with very healthy rosters those years. In 2002, Tampa Bay only had one starter on injured reserve. That was Booger McFarland, and nose tackle was a very replaceable position in Monte Kiffin’s defense. The Bucs didn’t miss McFarland as they cruised to a 48-21 win in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Raiders. Chuck Darby and Buck Gurley stepped in and played well against Oakland.

In 2020, the Bucs were incredibly healthy throughout the year. Only starting right guard Alex Cappa was on injured reserve. Aaron Stinnie filled in admirably and kept the offense humming. While backup tight end O.J. Howard was out for most of the season, Tampa Bay more than got by with Rob Gronkowski and tight end Cam Brate. And the Bucs did get wide receiver Antonio Brown, a midseason signee, back from a knee injury for the Super Bowl.

If Tampa Bay can stay healthy, it has the talent to win the Super Bowl again in 2022.

QUESTION: Can we expect to see Logan Hall in the rotation at edge like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was inside last year?

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I don’t think so. I wouldn’t rule out Logan Hall, the team’s new 3-technique defensive tackle, getting a few reps outside on the edge during his rookie year. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has even used Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea as an edge rusher in a few defenses over the last two years. But Hall will be spending 90%-95% of his reps in between the tackles.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka saw a decent amount of reps inside last year because the Bucs lacked quick, penetrating interior defensive linemen. Hall’s arrival, plus the addition of veteran Akiem Hicks, should help alleviate that. Tryon-Shoyinka will still see some time inside in some nickel rush packages, especially when Shaq Barrett and Anthony Nelson are healthy. The Bucs like Nelson’s development and want to get him on the field more at outside linebacker in 2022.

QUESTION: Will Tom Brady have more combined touchdowns than the defense has sacks?

ANSWER: That’s a very interesting question. Tom Brady threw for a Bucs-record and a league-high 43 touchdown passes last year. He also two rushing scores, so that’s a combined 45 total TDs. Back in 2020, which was Brady’s first year in Tampa Bay, he threw for 40 touchdowns and ran for three more scores. That was a total of 43 TDs.

The Bucs’ defense had 48 sacks in 2020 and 47 sacks last year. So, in both seasons, Tampa Bay’s defense had more sacks than Brady had combined touchdowns. I would expect that trend to continue in 2022.

Even if Brady goes nuts and throws for 45 TDs this year and rushes for three or four more, I could still see the Bucs’ defense getting more sacks. It’s just a hunch, but I think Tampa Bay’s defense seems poised for 50 sacks or more this season.

QUESTION: You guys did everything (and then some) to deliver great content despite lack of access during COVID protocols. I know that can make things difficult to get inside scoops on the team. Have things loosened up for this season (i.e. locker room access, interview availability, etc)?

Scott Reynolds and Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Mark Cook/PR

ANSWER: Thank you very much for the compliment! We at Pewter Report certainly tried our best to deliver news and inside scoop during the COVID-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons. It was a real challenge with many of the interviews being done via Zoom rather than in person. That meant rarely getting any one-on-one interviews (even via Zoom) with Bucs players and not much exclusive content.

Thankfully, the COVID protocols have been lifted by the NFL and we’ve resumed having face-to-face interviews this offseason. That will continue into training camp, and we’ll finally have open locker room again for the first time since the 2019 season. I can’t wait. It’s that environment when you build trust and relationship with the players. Not only will they open up and give some inside scoop and exclusive content, but the players are more at ease in the locker room and will usually deliver better quotes in that environment.

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