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Brate, who saw a career-high 81 targets in 2016 as the unquestioned No. 1 tight end for the majority of the season, projects to be involved in plenty of two-tight end sets with heralded No. 1 pick O.J. Howard in the coming season, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. "We were fortunate enough to add speed on the outside with DeSean Jackson to pair up with Mike [Evans] and now we've got two tight ends to pair side by side in [Cameron Brate] and O.J.," said head coach Dirk Koetter.
While the Harvard product exceeded everyone's expectations with a 57-catch, eight-touchdown season, blocking wasn't exactly his strong suit, which played a part in the Bucs running game being ranked near the bottom of the league in most major categories in 2016. Howard brings a more complete skill set that includes freakish downfield speed for a player of his size, along with the pedigree of a No. 1 pick. However, it's notable that Brate already has experience carving out a niche alongside an athletic tight end with superior measurables in the form of the mercurial and since-departed Austin Seferian-Jenkins. In fact, the defensive attention that Howard is likely to command in the middle of the field could make life much easier for Brate by affording him plenty of one-on-one matchups. The sure hands, dependable route running and overall toughness that Brate displayed last season are not likely to be forsaken by Koetter regardless of Howard's presence, and as per Scott Smith of the team's official site, the Bucs head coach went out of his way to reassure his incumbent tight end of that personally following Tampa's first-round selection Thursday.
