A lot of attention will be paid to Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran starting tight end Cade Otton this season, as he has a lot of talent and a new contract, re-signing with the Bucs after many thought he would be headed elsewhere for more targets. But Zac Robinson and Baker Mayfield are counting on Otton to take that next step forward this season.
Meanwhile, the Bucs did draft a promising tight end prospect, too, and Bauer Sharp is having one of the best training camps to start off the proceedings this summer, turning heads around the organization and among the beat writers.
Though he was only a sixth round pick, Sharp was one of the most talented pass-catching tight ends in this draft class and insanely underrated, probably overlooked because he didn't get the targets that some of the other top prospects got.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie TE Bauer Sharp is worth believing in
Sharp looks like another great Jason Licht find on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. He is showing great chemistry with all the quarterbacks in the room, building off some great summer workouts earlier in the offseason with big touchdown catches and more shiftiness than expected at the start of his routes.
Though he is 6'4", 249 pounds, Bauer Sharp is a fluid athlete at the tight end position. He knows how to get open and is showing even more playmaking ability than Cade Otton and the rest of the tight end group. And while he isn't going to be taking Otton's job this season, he could in the future and is already showing that he will be a great supplement to the starting tight end for Baker Mayfield to find, especially when things get tight in the red zone.
That's one thing the Buccaneers offense really needed this summer, too. They needed to solidify another end zone target for Mayfield in order to get more efficient as an offense and convert those scoring opportunities into touchdowns.
Not a whole lot of people around the NFL are talking about Sharp or even know who he is, and it feels like the young wide receivers, including fellow rookie Ted Hurst, are taking some of that attention away from Sharp, as is the drama around the Baker and Vita Vea contracts.
Nevertheless, Sharp has been a great story this offseason and is someone for Bucs fans to watch closely in the 2026 season.
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