Who Should I Start? Drew Sample or Cade Otton

Saturday, September 27, 2:08 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample has only three catches this season, with one resulting in a trip to the end zone. The 29-year-old has logged more snaps than Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant (foot) through the first three weeks of the 2025 campaign. However, both have received more attention from quarterbacks Joe Burrow (toe) and Jake Browning. The Bengals offense is a mess, which has been a surprise to most. As a result, it's hard to trust anyone on that side of the ball. Granted, Sample should continue to lead the position in snaps, especially with his abilities as a blocker. Still, while he will likely add a few more scores to his resume before the end of the season, he's not consistent enough to be considered a starting fantasy option in any format in Week 4 versus the Broncos.

Saturday, October 18, 9:09 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton has picked up the slack over the last few weeks. Otton was awful to start the season, but finished with 81 receiving yards in Week 5 and hauled in five receptions for 51 yards last week. The Bucs are starting to believe in Otton and he's beginning to earn a larger role. It's also worth noting that the Bucs are extremely banged up right now. They're already without two starting wideouts, but Mike Evans (hamstring) and Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) might sit in Week 7 as well. If that happens, Otton could see an expanded role on Monday night. At worst, Otton should be a solid TE2 given his recent success.