Buccaneers: Players to watch against the Lions in week 14
By Sean Eck
Cameron Brate
Last week Brate caught his first touchdown since week six. He followed that up with a second touchdown. This week with two touchdown receptions against Detroit, it would mark only the third time in franchise history that a player has posted consecutive games with multiple touchdown catches.
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The Lions are very susceptible to pass-catching tight ends and Brate should get plenty of looks from Jameis Winston. Brate on the season has 62 targets which are behind only Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson. He is the eleventh most targeted tight end in the league averaging 5.2 targets per game.
On the season Brate is right on pace to match or exceed his statistics from last season. He has four games to get 20 catches, 179 yards, and two touchdowns. Brate might be wanting it more than any other tight end in the NFL as he is fighting to show not only the Buccaneers but the other 31 teams how valuable he is as he enters free agency this season.
This week could go a long way toward the stats Brate needs to reach career highs. The Lions are giving up an average of 12.6 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. This translates to Brate needing to be all over the field in the passing game.
With the release of Luke Stocker, Brate is now the most experienced tight end on the roster. While known for his catching ability he will now be tasked to help in the run game more. Having him in there could also open up more play action passing opportunities for the Buccaneers.