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    Cade Otton Fantasy Hub: Week 18 Injury Update, Start/Sit Advice, Projections, and More

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    Here's the latest Cade Otton fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups, including injury status, start-sit advice, trade insight, and more.

    The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 18. 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.

    Check out the FREE Start/Sit Optimizer from Pro Football Network to ensure you are making the right decisions for your fantasy lineup every week!
    Check out the FREE Start/Sit Optimizer from Pro Football Network to ensure you are making the right decisions for your fantasy lineup every week!

    Is Cade Otton Playing in Week 18?

    Last Updated Sunday at 11:30 AM
    Otton is inactive for today's game

    Otton has missed the past two weeks with a knee injury. He did not practice on Wednesday but returned to a limited session on Thursday. However, he was listed as doubtful on the final injury report on Friday after a second straight limited practice.

    It’s encouraging to see Otton improving. However, this could be a calculated risk by Tampa Bay, which may believe it can beat the New Orleans Saints without Otton and have him closer to full strength for the Wild Card Round.

    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.

    Cade Otton’s Fantasy Outlook

    Otton (knee) was inactive last week, and the Buccaneers’ offense crumbled without him. Oh wait, no, it didn’t. They dropped 48 points and averaged 7.4 yards per play.

    He’ll be out again this week. Otton had his moment in the fantasy sun as the Bucs sorted out a rash of receiver injuries, but that time is long gone now, with Jalen McMillan looking very much like an asset for years to come.

    Otton’s fantasy numbers and usage rates have fallen off a cliff whenever Mike Evans is on the field. It’s something to keep an eye on next season.

    Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.

    Cade Otton’s Fantasy Points Outlook in Week 18

    Due to his doubtful status, Otton is projected to score 0 points in Week 18.

    Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.

    PFN Insight on the Saints' Defense

    Although the Saints had an ugly season overall before Dennis Allen's firing, the defense stood out as an issue. Allen was the former DC under Sean Payton, and when his defense ranked well below its sixth-place finish from last year (and 13th in 2022), the writing was on the wall.

    Since his firing, New Orleans had alternated top-six weeks with bottom-15 performances. However, they appear to be plateauing after their third straight mediocre-to-bad performance in Week 17 vs. the Raiders.

    The Saints recorded a 72.3 (C-) grade in their regular-season home finale. Even against the worst run defense in the NFL, the Saints averaged 0.11 EPA per rush allowed. That's somehow the fifth-best mark for New Orleans in a game this season but still ranks in the bottom half of all teams in Week 17.

    For the season, the Saints rank 30th in both EPA per rush (-0.04) and success rate (55.2%). They still stay in the top 20 thanks to a top-15 pass defense by success rate and EPA per play, despite their starting outside cornerbacks being gone since midseason due to trade (Marshon Lattimore) or season-ending injury (Paulson Adebo).

    Ultimately, the abysmal run defense places a pretty firm cap on New Orleans' defensive ceiling, particularly since the injury-riddled offense isn't strong enough to force defenses to play from behind and abandon the run.

    For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis

    Cade Otton’s Fantasy Ranking

    Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.

    Week 18 TE PPR Rankings

    1) Brock Bowers | LV (vs. LAC)
    2) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. MIN)
    3) Trey McBride | ARI (vs. SF)
    4) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at DET)
    5) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. CLE)
    6) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at NYJ)
    7) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. CHI)
    8) George Kittle | SF (at ARI)
    9) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (vs. HOU)
    10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. CIN)
    11) Zach Ertz | WAS (at DAL)
    12) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. CAR)
    13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. BUF)
    14) Will Dissly | LAC (at LV)
    15) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. CLE)
    16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (vs. WAS)
    17) Mike Gesicki | CIN (at PIT)
    18) Juwan Johnson | NO (at TB)
    19) Noah Gray | KC (at DEN)
    20) Brenton Strange | JAX (at IND)
    21) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at NE)
    22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at TEN)
    23) Cole Kmet | CHI (at GB)
    24) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. MIA)
    25) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. BUF)
    26) Noah Fant | SEA (at LAR)
    27) Foster Moreau | NO (at TB)
    28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. NYG)
    29) Jordan Akins | CLE (at BAL)
    30) Stone Smartt | LAC (at LV)
    31) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (at PHI)
    32) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
    33) Payne Durham | TB (vs. NO)
    34) Dawson Knox | BUF (at NE)
    35) Michael Mayer | LV (vs. LAC)

    Saints at Buccaneers Trends and Insights

    New Orleans Saints

    Team: The Saints have held the ball for under 23 minutes in consecutive games, totaling 10 points on 106 offensive plays over that stretch

    QB: Spencer Rattler has completed 56% of his passes just once this season and has two more multi-interception games than he has multi-TD games.

    Offense: The Saints converted just one-of-10 third downs on Sunday, their lowest rate of the season (four games under 30% this season),

    Defense: The Saints have allowed a score on the majority of opponent drives four times this season, two coming over the past two weeks.

    Fantasy: Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson chewed up 44.1% of New Orleans’ targets and 45% of their receptions.

    Betting: New Orleans has covered six straight road divisional games in which they’ve closed as an underdog.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Team: Since the beginning of November, Tampa Bay is 5-3, a record that could have swung even more in their favor (one overtime loss and the other two coming by no more than three points).

    QB: Baker Mayfield's average QB+ is 78.6 this season. That ranks favorably to 2020 Tom Brady (77.9) as he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl win.

    Offense: On Sunday, Bucky Irving became the second player this season with a 30+ yard catch and a 30+ yard run in multiple games, joining Saquon Barkley.

    Defense: For the first time this season, Tampa Bay has failed to force a turnover in consecutive games.

    Fantasy: Jalen McMillan has a touchdown catch in four straight games, the longest streak by a rookie since Lee Evans (2004).

    Betting: The Bucs are 6-2 ATS over their past eight games and have seen over tickets cash in each of their past three.

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