Although they have plenty of established veterans on the team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have quietly been injecting the roster with young talent through the draft. It's a delicate balance that Bucs' GM Jason Licht has had to navigate in order to facilitate the transition from Tom Brady to... well, not having Tom Brady.
The fact that the Bucs have achieved success on the field without fully rebuilding the roster has been quite an impressive feat. The proof is in the pudding, and the Bucs have reeled off three consecutive NFC South titles despite losing the greatest quarterback of all time.
The job isn't done, though. And the Buccaneers will be looking to take another step forward in 2024, one season removed from a narrow defeat in the NFC Divisional Round playoffs at the hands of the Detroit Lions.
Recently, Buccaneers' starting running back Rachaad White made an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show where he discussed the state of the roster.
"The team was full of veterans and older guys. Then when I came in, you've seen us transform into the young guys, and young players [have] to step up."
He also went out of his way to identify one of his offensive teammates who he believes is being slept on. "I had a lot of guys that came in with me too that made awesome plays. Our tight end, Cate Otton, he's a sleeper."
The fact that White brought up Cade Otton's name completely unprovoked speaks to his genuine belief in the tight end's ability. The Bucs selected Otton in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft, just one round after they selected Rachaad White. And similar to White, Otton has seen his opportunities (and stats) gradually increase since he entered the league.
The arrow is definitely pointing up for Cade Otton, who put together his best string of games to close out last season. In the team's two playoff games, Otton hauled in 13 catches on 19 targets for 154 yards and a touchdown. He was also someone BucsGameday identified as a breakout player for 2024.
If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense plans on making some noise this season, they're going to need both Rachaad White and his 'sleeper' teammate, Cade Otton, to make a big impact.
