Bucs' Baker Mayfield Under-The-Radar Weapon Poised For Year 2 Jump

This time last year, Devin Culp was deep into his offseason preparation, not knowing if his NFL dream was going to be realized ahead of the NFL Draft, but luckily, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a shot on him in the seventh round.

Culp's rookie season went under the radar as the Buccaneers' other tight end, Cade Otten, is the undisputed No. 1, but being out of the spotlight allowed Culp to develop his game in the shadows.

But when it came time to put everything into practice, he did. In the final two regular-season games, Culp got his chance and posted three receptions for 52 yards against the Carolina Panthers and backed that up in Week 18 with two catches for 36 yards against the New Orleans Saints.

That made for a rather pleasant exit meeting for the rookie.

“Everything was really positive,” Culp said. “I was happy with what they had to say, being in the role I was in last year, it was just kind of a place where I had to stay ready because I never knew when my number was going to be called, but I knew it was going to be at some point. So for me to be able to step up when I had my opportunity was huge and left all the coaches pleased and very excited to see what the future is going to entail for me.”