The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Cade Otton.
Is Cade Otton Playing in Week 9?
Otton is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Buccaneers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Cade Otton in Week 9?
The star of National Tight Ends Day (officially the final Sunday of October for those keeping track at home) scored twice, doubling his scoring output from his previous 11 regular season games in the process.
Otton has caught 17 of 20 targets over the past two weeks, establishing himself as the lone soldier still standing for Baker Mayfield in this passing game. That role isn’t going to change this week, and that elevates Otton to a top-12 play, even when facing the fifth-best defense in terms of both scoring and yards per play allowed.
My answer would be “Yes.” Yes, I would sell Otton for a viable Flex piece if given the opportunity, as I don’t think his value the rest of the way is drastically ahead of replacement level.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Cade Otton’s Fantasy Points Outlook in Week 9
Otton is projected to score 11.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.2 receptions for 47.2 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Kansas City Chiefs Defense
After a run of three games posting Defense+ numbers above 50, the Chiefs saw some regression in Week 8, which is a concern considering that happened against the Las Vegas Raiders. After struggling out of the gate, the Chiefs’ defense has shown some improvement in the last five games, with their 20 points allowed to the Raiders being the highest in that stretch.
There are some concerns for the Chiefs’ pass defense, as they rank 23rd for their success rate and sack rate. However, they have been very good against the run, and the net effect has generally been top-10 numbers in crucial statistics like yards per play, points per drive, and total defensive EPA. With their efficient offense, the Chiefs’ defense simply needs to be “good enough,” and they are hitting that mark comfortably.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Cade Otton’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NO)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (at LAR)
3) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
4) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
5) Sam LaPorta | DET (at SF)
6) David Njoku | CLE (vs. MIA)
7) Mark Andrews | BAL (at HOU)
8) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. GB)
9) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
10) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
11) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. KC)
12) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
14) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
15) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
17) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. LAC)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LV)
19) Stone Smartt | LAC (at NE)
20) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. ATL)
21) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
22) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
23) Cade Otton | TB (vs. CAR)
24) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (at HOU)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. LAC)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
29) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
30) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at TB)
31) Foster Moreau | NO (vs. LV)
32) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
33) Michael Mayer | LV (at NO)
34) Tommy Tremble | CAR (at TB)
35) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs. IND)
36) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. NYJ)
37) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at BUF)
38) Payne Durham | TB (vs. CAR)
39) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. MIA)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs Insights
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team: This is the first of a seven-game stretch that sees Tampa Bay play five road games.
QB: Baker Mayfield has thrown for 325 yards and three touchdowns in three straight games – the last player with a four-game streak was Aaron Rodgers bridging the 2012-13 seasons.
Offense: The Bucs are averaging 2.57 points per drive, pacing for their second most this millennium (other: 2020, Super Bowl champions).
Defense: Over the past two weeks (BAL and ATL), Tampa Bay has allowed 3.6 points per drive (Weeks 1-6: 2.0).
Fantasy: We spent a lot of time last week trying to pin the tail on the Buccaneer WR most likely to step up when it proved to be the existing pieces—against the Falcons, Cade Otton, Bucky Irving, and Rachaad White accounted for 48.2% of Tampa Bay’s receiving yards and 56.8% of their receptions.
Betting: Tampa Bay is 4-16 ATS (20%) over their past 20 primetime games (0-2 this season in a pair of shootouts – 36-30 loss to the Falcons in Week 5 and a 41-31 loss to the Ravens in Week 7).
Kansas City Chiefs
Team: This isn’t the high-flying offense we want it to be, but there is an offensive floor that comes with Patrick Mahomes, and that’s enough—this team hasn’t lost a game in which they’ve scored over 20 points since December 4, 2022 (at Bengals).
QB: Mahomes doesn’t have a completion that traveled 20 yards in the air in October.
Offense: The Chiefs averaged 31.1 points per game in their 2022 wins. That number dropped to 25.0 last season and is even lower in their undefeated start this season (24.7).
Defense: They proved willing to ramp up the aggression last week in Vegas if they identify it as a weakness of their opponent – 47.1% blitz rate after checking in under 28% in each of their three games prior.
Fantasy: Mahomes hasn’t finished better than QB16 in six straight games and has a lower pass touchdown rate than Will Levis this season.
Betting: Mahomes has covered all three of his primetime games this season (Ravens, Falcons, and Saints) after covering just three of his most recent 11 regular season primetime games entering 2024.