The most impressive rookie on the Buccaneers comes down to three players, but only one is succeeding at a position where rookies historically struggle.
What the Buccaneers have received from their rookies this season has been extremely atypical for what was expected around the time of the draft. Every year is its own thing and every rookie has to go through the process of acclimating to the speed of the NFL on their own, in their own way, but what we have seen has still been surprising.
The best rookies on the Buccaneers by far have been Rachaad White, Cade Otton, and Jake Camarda.
A running back on a pass-first team, a tight end, and a punter were not on most people’s bingo cards for who would find success the quickest, yet here were are.
Of this group, while many would gravitate towards Rachaad White as the best after his breakout performance, or Jake Camarda after his breakout performance the week before, the most impressive rookie has actually been Otton.
Otton’s stat line has been generally modest, but 26 receptions for 281 yards and a touchdown has been excellent production for a rookie that wasn’t even supposed to see the field.
Tight end is historically one of the hardest positions in the NFL for a rookie to step into, yet Otton has succeeded and actually earned the starting job on a team that has aspirations with the Super Bowl.
There are still going to be growing pains and some awkward moments as the position is still quite difficult to grow into, but every Bucs fan should be extremely optimistic with what they have seen from their very impactful rookie.
Here is to hoping that we can see more of this as the season goes on.
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