UW tight end, Tumwater product Cade Otton drafted by Tampa Bay
Cade Otton will be catching passes from Tom Brady for at least one season.
Otton, the pride of Tumwater High School and former UW tight end, was selected with the first pick of the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the No. 106 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end, flashed brilliance during the 2020 season with the Huskies, named to the All-Pac-12 first team, when he caught 18 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 14.3 yards per catch.
The 2021 season was tougher. Otton missed a couple games because of COVID-19 issues, then injured his foot in a 35-30 loss to Arizona State, which required ankle surgery. Otton suited up for eight games in his final season at UW, catching 28 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown.
While his draft stock may have taken a slight hit, there was still plenty to like from the latest in a successful line of recent UW tight ends who have made the jump to the NFL. Otton was an All-American honorable mention in 2020 by Phil Steele. His Tumwater background running the Wing-T has made him an elite blocking tight end and he’s shown plenty of ability as a receiver, too.
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The Bucs are getting a polished tight end that figures to immediately compete for playing time and see the field as a rookie.
Otton, the grandson of legendary Tumwater coach and the state’s all-time winningest high school football coach Sid Otton, was The Olympian’s 2016 All-Area player of the year and a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s 2016 All-Area team. As a senior, he had 820 receiving yards at tight end and 123 tackles and three tackles as a linebacker. Otton was considered a three-star high school recruit by 247sports.com and the No. 8 rated player from Washington in the 2017 class.
Four former Husky tight ends were on NFL rosters a season ago: Will Dissly (Seattle), Darrell Daniels (Arizona), Drew Sample (Cincinnati) and Hunter Bryant (Detroit).
Otton’s most memorable collegiate highlight came in the 2020 covid-shortened season against Utah at Husky Stadium. Trailing 21-0 at half, the Huskies mounted a furious comeback, capped off by quarterback Dylan Morris connecting on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Otton late in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Otton became the third player from UW selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Cornerback Trent McDuffie went to Kansas City Chiefs in the first round with the 21st overall pick and cornerback Kyler Gordon went to Chicago in the second round with the 39th overall pick.
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 9:15 AM.
