Bucs 3-Year Outlook: TE

Because of the recent youth movement the Bucs have gone with at the tight end position, all of their top tight ends are on rookie contracts. Cade Otton (a fourth-round pick last year) and Ko Kieft (a sixth-rounder last year) are the senior members of the group, and they both have contracts that run through 2026.

Payne Durham was drafted in the fifth round this year and has a standard rookie deal that runs for four years, so he’s locked in through 2027.

As for the rest of the tight end room, it’s uncertain heading into 2023. Dominique Dafney and David Wells are on one-year deals and aren’t locks to crack the 53-man roster.

Tanner Taula is an undrafted free agent tight end who the Bucs are fond of, and he’ll have a chance during training camp to latch on as a TE4.

Tampa Bay seems to be in a good spot with its tight ends, as there’s not a lot of money invested in the position but there’s some promising talent in the 24-year-old Otton and the 23-year old Durham. The 25-year-old Kieft also plays his blocking specialist/occasional H-back role exceptionally well, too.

How This Year Impacts 2024 & 2025

The Bucs are high on Otton, and he’ll have a chance to really establish himself as their TE1 in 2023. If he takes on that role and looks the part of a top tight end, Tampa Bay will be able to feel comfortable about the top spot on the depth chart for at least a couple more years.

Kieft excels as a blocker and will occasionally surprise in the passing game, but his ceiling may be that of a TE3. If he gets surpassed by Durham and is limited to blocking, he may find himself as an end-of-the-roster guy. And I’d that’s the case, he’ll have his work cut out to him to hang on to a roster spot in 2024 and 2025.

What Durham does with his snaps will determine where he falls in the Bucs’ future plans. If he’s a true TE2 or borderline TE1, all Tampa Bay will have to do in the coming years is round out its depth at the position. But if he doesn’t show the promise the team needs him to show, he could find himself fading into TE3 territory as soon as next offseason if the Bucs add another young tight end or sign one in free agency.

Three-Year Outlook: Bucs Tight Ends

The Bucs will hope they’re set at the tight end position for the next three years. Otton, Durham and Kieft still being the top three on the depth chart in 2025 would mean good things for Tampa Bay, and it would leave team decision-makers only needing another tight end to complete the room. Whether that’s Dafney, Wells, Taula or another addition remains to be seen.

Otton looks well on his way to being a complete tight end, while Durham projects as a chain-mover and big target in the red zone. What Kieft does is valuable too, and if he continues to add at least some value as a receiver, the Bucs are set for the next few years.

At the same time, Tampa Bay doesn’t have a lot invested in the tight end room. It’s not as if they have any big-money players with long-term deals or high-end draft status. Each tight end on the roster was a Day 3 pick and while the team believes in each of them, it doesn’t need to give them all a long leash. Lack of production or overall poor play could mean an overhaul sooner than planned.

Three-Year Outlook Summary

Long gone are the days of established veterans Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard leading the tight end room. The youth movement is fully on in Tampa Bay and there’s a lot of intrigue as to how things will pan out with this group. The floor feels pretty high for the trio of Otton, Durham and Kieft, but the ceiling may be limited. If they disprove that this year, the longer-term outlook at the position will look pretty good for the Bucs.