Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost two pass catchers due to injury in Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Mike Evans is expected to be sidelined for the next few weeks while Godwin is likely done for the season (and maybe even in Tampa Bay). With the two stars injured, these four pass catchers will step up for the Bucs in fantasy.
Bucs Pass Catchers to Step Up in Fantasy Without Playmakers
Cade Otton
Cade Otton takes over as Mayfield’s most-reliable option. He produced the first 100-yard game of his career against Baltimore and has seen 6+ targets in four of the last five games. From a fantasy perspective, his numbers last night (10 points in standard, 18 in PPR) were the third-highest total since he came into the league.
With Godwin and Evans out, Otton also becomes the top target in the redzone. He’s only found the endzone once through seven games, but that number will increase. Even when the receiver duo was healthy, Otton still accumulated 20% of the redzone targets.
Otton is currently rostered in 39% of Yahoo fantasy leagues and 42% of ESPN leagues. If you need a tight end to make a playoff push, hit the waiver wire now and scoop him up.
Jalen McMillan
Hey rookie, welcome to the NFL! Jalen McMillan is in a completely different role than he was a month ago. He saw eight targets in Week 7 which was the third-highest behind Godwin and Otton. The stats don’t show it, but the volume is there for McMillan to produce at a high level.
Looking at the tape, Mayfield underthrew three passes in McMillan’s direction with a fourth one into double coverage that should’ve never been thrown. His footwork needs to improve as shown by his inability to get two feet in the endzone, but the Buccaneers know he’s talented. They are going to continue feeding him the ball. He will see more targets over Sterling Shepard who has been used minimally this season even when healthy.
McMillan is currently owned in less than 3% of all fantasy leagues on Yahoo and ESPN. With bye weeks and new receivers getting hurt on a weekly basis, grab McMillan before it’s too late.
Rachaad White/Bucky Irving
The running back duo of Rachaad White and Bucky Irving just got even more appealing. They combined for nine targets in the passing game against the Ravens with White claiming six of them. White and Irving have both shown their ability to be pass-catching running backs, and Tampa Bay will need a lot more of it moving forward.
White’s value raises more than Irving’s as a result of the former seeing more redzone targets. Through seven weeks, White has 25 redzone targets compared to 15 for Irving. Both have increased value, but White fantasy owners are going to be reaping the benefits.
Both of these players are owned in over 65% of fantasy leagues on Yahoo and ESPN. You may not be able to grab them on waivers, but both of them could be potential trade deadline targets.
Main Photo Courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel – USA Today Sports
