Dynasty Rookie Report Card: Cade Otton and Raheem Blackshear
Each week throughout the season, I’ll cover at least two rookies in the Rookie Report Card and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week. On top of reviewing my expectations for each player coming into the league and how well he’s lived up to those expectations at the NFL level to this point, I’ll grade the player in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, rookie season potential and long-term upside.
The series continues as we highlight rookies Cade Otton and Raheem Blackshear.
Cade Otton, TE TB
Week Nine Stats: five catches, 68 yards, one touchdown (six targets)
One of my favorite tight ends in the 2022 class, Otton came out of Washington oozing with upside as a traditional in-line pass-catching tight end. In his four seasons with the Huskies, he caught just 91 passes for 1,026 yards and nine touchdowns but when you watch the college tape, it’s clear his best football is in front of him.
Otton is a very strong route runner, using his quick feet to change directions and sneaky speed to pull away from linebackers and safeties. Very athletic for a player his size (6’-5”, 250 pounds), he has a quick release to get into his route and excellent catch radius to make off-target catches. Speedy enough to press the seam with excellent hands, he can make plays all over the field.
Although a majority of his snaps in college came in-line (as most Washington tight ends do), Otton has the athleticism and ball skills to play in the slot or even on the perimeter in the NFL.
Throughout the months leading up to the draft, Otton was clumped with names like Jelani Woods, Greg Dulcich, and Daniel Bellinger in the 30s and 40s of rookie rankings but decent draft capital (he was the first pick on day three of the NFL Draft) and a solid landing spot in Tampa Bay wasn’t enough to move him up dynasty draft boards.
Otton went undrafted in many three and four-round rookie drafts throughout the summer. It wasn’t until Rob Gronkowski retired a couple of weeks after the draft that he landed on dynasty managers’ radars and even then, the presence of Cameron Brate kept him from gaining momentum.
We got strong reviews from Buccaneers camp throughout the pre-season but it wasn’t until week four that Otton began to get regular playing time. In his last six games, he’s hauled in 22 passes for 242 yards and score. His biggest game came on Sunday against the Rams, where he caught five of six targets for 68 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Playing 85% of snaps, Otton was tied for second on the team with 53 routes run. He challenged all three levels on the defense throughout the day, catching a handful of short balls that he turned into nine to ten yards along with a 19-yarder and beautiful 28-yarder up the seam where he made a diving catch. His short touchdown came on a simple flat route.
During the pre-draft process, I couldn’t help but think Otton reminds me a lot of young Zach Ertz because of his savvy route running and feel for finding openings in zone defenses. Although he has a long way to go to reach Ertz-like fantasy relevance, his ultimate upside lies in that range.
Although it might not be enough to get him, dynasty managers looking for a developmental tight end with upside should be offering a future third-round rookie pick for the Bucs’ rookie. Making him a small part of a larger deal is also worth exploring.
Raheem Blackshear, RB CAR
Week Nine Stats: five carries, 13 yards, one touchdown, four receptions, 40 receiving yards (four targets)
I didn’t get around to watching Blackshear until late in the draft process. Honestly, the only reason I checked him out is that I saw his name on a list of draft-eligible tailbacks and remembered him from his days with Rutgers.
All I remembered from his two-plus seasons with the Scarlet Knights was that Blackshear is small but quick, and was one of the top pass-catching tailbacks in the Big Ten. Although I lost track of him after he left my favorite college football conference, he continued to do much of the same with Virginia Tech over the last couple of years, although in a reserve role.
If you turn on Blackshear’s college tape, you’ll wonder why he didn’t get more opportunities because he’s so shifty and elusive, but it’s clear at just 5’-9”, 195 pounds he isn’t built to handle a big workload. Nevertheless, he’s very sudden as a cutback runner and has the speed to get the edge on perimeter runs. Very hard to tackle at the point of attack, he uses a harsh slide-step and very quick feet to avoid big hits.
The most transferrable part of Blackshear’s game to the NFL is clearly his ability to make plays in the passing game. More of a check-down option than the type of tailback who can move around the formation to play wide or in the slot, he has good instincts as a route runner to find open space and excellent hands to make catches, even when off-target. Also a strong kick returner in college, he turns into a playmaker after the catch, using his acceleration and elusiveness to force oncoming tacklers into bad angles.
Although this all paints the picture of a future contributor as a passing down specialist in the league and potential deep dynasty stash, the truth is he was undrafted and hasn’t been on most dynasty managers’ radars until now because there are limitations that cap Blackshear’s upside.
Due to his small stature, Blackshear is unlikely to handle more than single-digit touches in a game with any regularity. The type of runner who looks great in open space but is easy to take down if a defender gets his hands on him, he won’t break many tackles and goes down on even light contact with relative ease.
That isn’t to say there couldn’t be a fantasy-relevant role for a player with Blackshear’s body type and skillset, however. There are plenty of NFL pass-catching tailbacks with similar height, weight and speed (Blackshear ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at his pro day). JD McKissic (5’-10”, 195 pounds) is the exact size and ran a slower 40 (4.62). Nyheim Hines is a step quicker (4.39) but is very similar in size (5’-9”, 195 pounds.)
On Sunday against the Bengals, Blackshear got his first real chance to get on the field, playing 17 snaps and handling the football nine times. He turned that opportunity into 53 total yards and a touchdown, or 15.3 PPR fantasy points.
Filling in for Chuba Hubbard, who will most certainly return to pass-catching duties when he returns from his ankle injury, Blackshear looked solid as a check-down option in the passing game and darted through a running lane for a two-yard touchdown run. His biggest play of the game came when he opened the second half as a kick returner however. Exploding from the end zone, he met three Bengals at around the 30-yard line, ran through their arm tackles, and raced another 30 or so yards for a 66-yard return, showing exactly how explosive he can be.
Blackshear had a solid game on limited chances Sunday in Cincinnati but dynasty managers should take it for what it was. Filling in due to injury, the game script allowed him to get on the field and he made a couple of plays that happened to make him the RB13 for the week. Sure to return to special teams duties very soon, he’s barely worth a roster spot in most dynasty formats. With that said however, I put a waiver claim on him in leagues where I have an open spot, just in case he gets another opportunity to show what he can do.
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