The Minnesota Vikings’ offense lacked consistent production from the tight-end unit last season. They cut Kyle Rudolph, and Irv Smith Jr. suffered a torn meniscus in the preseason. Even though Tyler Conklin performed admirably in Smith’s stead, the Vikings had no reliable TE2, which proved to be detrimental in Klint Kubiak‘s offense.
Minnesota is now in the late stages of free agency, and its tight-end depth has regressed. Irv Smith Jr. is still working his way back from a torn meniscus, the New York Jets signed Conklin, and Chris Herndon is a free agent. Regardless of how highly Kevin O’Connell thinks of Johnny Mundt, he is not a receiving threat. If Smith or Mundt get hurt again, the Vikings would have to start Zach Davidson, a former hybrid punter who’s as raw as sushi.
Starting-caliber players will be abundant in Day 2 of the draft, especially for positions deemed too low-priority to draft in the first round. Washington tight end Cade Otton is one of those players.
Standing at 6’5″ and weighing 250 lbs., Cade Otton is a jack of all trades. He thrives in the intermediate passing game thanks to his ability to find soft spots in zone coverage.
On this play against the Utah Utes, Washington runs play-action, something they did a lot of last year. Otton (No. 87) goes over the middle and can find a hole in the zone, while quarterback Dylan Morris does an excellent job of getting the ball out quickly before the pass rush collapses the pocket.
Here’s another example of Otton finding soft spots in coverage, this time against UCLA. The Huskies employ an empty set on 1st and 10, with Otton running a simple crossing route. Otton notices that linebacker Bo Calvert (No. 33) is staying five yards away from him in the flat and stops in the unoccupied hole in the zone. That allows Morris to complete an easy throw over the middle to Otton for a first down.
Despite some god-awful quarterback play, the Huskies had Otton run vertical routes a fair amount, and that strategy worked out well for them on this play. Here, Morris delivers a nice pass off of play-action to Otton running a vertical route straight into the end zone.
Otton’s 6’5″ frame may be the first thing that grabs headlines, but his awareness and tenacity make him a productive football player. These traits are especially noticeable when he’s handling blocking duties.
On this play, Otton comes across the line of scrimmage and executes a crackback block to perfection, opening up a running lane for Kamari Pleasant.
Next, the Huskies are gonna run a toss play to the right. Cade Otton can quickly get outside and shows his tenacity by not only executing the block but also finishing it.
Otton is an equally capable pass blocker. Here, Cade can win his 1v1 matchup in pass protection against linebacker Mitchell Agude. The result of this play was an interception, but it wasn’t due to poor blocking on Otton’s part.
Later in the game, the Huskies had Otton in pass protection on the left side of the line. He does an excellent job forcing the speed rusher outside and away from the quarterback.
Some may not believe that the Vikings need another tight end in Kevin O’Connell‘s offense. After all, the Rams ran 11 personnel more than anyone else in the league last season. While it’s true that the Vikings will get the wide receivers more involved in the passing game, don’t underestimate the importance of a second tight end in this offense. According to Hayden Winks, the plan for the Vikings is to be more multiple with personnel, which includes the use of multiple tight-end formations, a fullback, and establishing the run. The Vikings’ offense figures to be more modern, but don’t expect O’Connell to shy away from a more old-school offensive philosophy when necessary.
This year’s draft may not be loaded with top-end talent. But according to Daniel Jeremiah, it makes up for that in depth.
“I don’t think it has that top-line, top-of-the-ticket talent we saw last year when you talk about guys like Micah Parsons, Ja’Marr Chase, you look at Kyle Pitts, Rashawn Slater, these guys are already arguably the best players of their position or at least in the conversation as rookies. I don’t think that’s gonna be the case with this class, but what we do have is a lot of depth. So If you’re a team that has a lot of picks between 15-60 then, man, you’re gonna love this draft because that’s where the real special part of this draft exists.”
If the Vikings play their cards right, they’ll find some starting-caliber players in Day 2 and even Day 3. Cade Otton isn’t the most polarizing prospect in the draft, but his knack for finding ways to get open, along with his blocking ability, makes him a versatile player. He has the potential of being a starting-caliber player in the NFL for many years to come and provides good value in the third round.
