BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED: 2% of Leagues
ANALYSIS: Being a tight end in a Tom Brady-led offense has proven quite fruitful in the past, but there wasn't much hope surrounding Cameron Brate coming into the 2020 season with O.J. Howard and Rob Gronkowski occupying the same position for Tampa Bay, even with Brate having developed strong chemistry with Brady in the offseason.
However, with Gronk not yet being a dominant force in the Buccaneer passing game and Howard out for the remainder of the season with a ruptured achilles, the window of opportunity for Brate to breakthrough has remained open, and the last two weeks have served as encouraging evidence that he could become a key target of Brady in high-leverage situations.
Through the first three weeks of the season, Brate saw just a single target, zero receptions, and was on the field for a mere 16 offensive snaps. Then, as the field began to open up, Brate participated in 21% of offensive snaps (16 total) during Tampa's Week 4 matchup with the Chargers, catching a single pass out of his lone target for three yards, but importantly, that lone catch was good for a touchdown. Then, this past week against Chicago on Thursday Night Football, Brate's usage saw a major uptick, participating in 46% of offensive snaps (33 total), while catching five passes out of six targets for 44 yards. That ranked him third for the Bucs in receiving yards for that game behind Tyler Johnson and Gronk, while tying for second on the team in targets with those same two teammates.
As a large and formidable end-zone target with established chemistry with a quarterback known to cherish his tight end connections, Cameron Brate is a sleepy option at the position moving forward into the coming weeks.
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