Bucs Mailbag: Battle For TE2, Desmond Watson’s Progress

Bucs TE Devin Culp – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Since the Bucs didn’t add to the tight end room this offseason, thoughts on the potential of Devin Culp? He had a nice stretch when Cade Otton went down. He looked quick and explosive while also possessing good hands. He made some tough catches as well. Will he be more involved?

ANSWER: Yes, I think we’ll see more of Devin Culp on the field this year. I believe he’s supplanted Ko Kieft as the third tight end on the depth chart behind Cade Otton and Payne Durham. Culp, last year’s seventh-round pick, was inactive for most of his rookie season as he made the transition from college football to the NFL, which can be more daunting for some than others.

But when he was able to see the field down the stretch while Otton was dealing with a knee injury, Culp was productive. He caught four passes for 52 yards in his NFL debut against Carolina, including a 26-yard catch-and-run. The following week against New Orleans, he had two receptions for 36 yards, including a 20-yard gain. Culp finished his rookie campaign with five catches for 88 yards and a very impressive 17.6-yard average, which was the highest on the team during the 2024 season.

Bucs TE Devin Culp – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard wants more speed on the field, and that’s certainly what Culp brings to the table. He’s the fastest tight end in Tampa Bay and that was evident last year in his run-after-catch ability. Culp ran a 4.47 at the NFL Scouting Combine in the 2024 offseason, which was the fastest time in Indianapolis for any tight end at the time.

There’s a chance that Culp even becomes the No. 2 tight end in Tampa Bay when it comes to receptions and receiving yards. Payne Durham is currently TE2 and made big strides last year, but Culp is a more dangerous receiver and could get more targets even as TE3 in 2025.

QUESTION: Do you think Devin Culp or Payne Durham will have more of an impact in the passing game this year?

ANSWER: This is a good question and similar to the previous one. There are a lot of things at play here in determining whether Devin Culp or Payne Durham will have more of an impact in the Bucs’ passing game this year. First is whether or not the Bucs will be running more 11 personnel (three receiver sets) this year with the addition of first-round pick Emeka Egbuka. The guess here is that they will under new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Heck, we might even see some four-receiver sets with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and Ebuka on the field together in certain situations.

Second, how often will Grizzard deploy 12 (two tight ends) or 13 (three tight end ends) personnel in 2025? With Cade Otton as the clear-cut starter at tight end, he’ll continue to receive about 90% of the snap counts. If the Bucs stick with 11 personnel as their primary offensive set, that simply means fewer opportunities for Culp and Durham to see the field.

Bucs TEs Payne Durham and Devin Culp – Photo by: USA Today

Third, how much ground can Culp gain on Durham this offseason? Culp’s calling card is his speed and athleticism, but as an undersized tight end he needs to continue to add strength to function as an inline blocker. Durham is bigger and stronger at the point of attack, and is the better run blocker and pass protector as this stage. While he’s improved as a receiver and caught his first two touchdowns last season, Durham doesn’t have Culp’s speed to stretch the field and produce yards after the catch.

And finally, the Bucs may reset the depth chart at tight end under Grizzard with him calling the shots on offense now. Under Liam Coen, Culp didn’t get many opportunities until late in the season when Otton injured his knee. Grizzard has said he wants to get more speed on the field, so if Culp’s receiving ability is favored over Durham’s ability to block, we could see movement on the depth chart after training camp. Until we see how Culp and Durham perform in pads in August, it’s hard to predict who will be TE2, but Durham is currently holding down that spot.

QUESTION: What legends or help has Desmond Watson been receiving to help gear him up for the next step? Dude has major potential. Is the team fully utilizing the resources to make him a diamond?

ANSWER: We need to pump the brakes a bit on Desmond Watson, the undrafted free agent defensive tackle from Florida. First of all, he’s a great hometown kid with a great story. Everyone is pulling for him to lose enough weight and get in shape where he can at least make the Tampa Bay practice squad. But Watson making the 53-man roster is quite the long shot right now.

Remember, he had four years at Florida where he had the chance to be dominant, but his ballooning weight kept him from being a starter during his Gators career. He had ample time and resources to get in better shape and become a better version of himself. Watson has addressed the fact that he has an eating disorder and is receiving plenty of help from the Bucs trainers and nutrition staff. He seems highly motivated, and that’s a great sign. We’ll get a chance to see his progress this week at mandatory mini-camp.

Bucs DT Desmond Watson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But we can’t ignore the fact that he gained weight each season at Florida rather than lost weight, and the fact that the NFL is an entirely new level of football. There aren’t redshirt freshman and sophomore offensive linemen to push around anymore. The league is full of grown men – true professionals who are plenty strong and agile and are a handful to deal with.

The good news is that Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea is Watson’s favorite player and role model. So perhaps being around Vea, who has dealt with his own weight issues in the past, on a daily basis will help inspire Watson to lose the necessary weight and finally live up to his vast potential. Watson is still above 400 pounds and will likely need to get down to around 380 or so to truly be effective enough from a stamina and performance aspect to play on Sundays.

QUESTION: Scott, I’ve got to ask you the wild card question – who would you take from an all-time Bucs roster as your street fight tag team partner? I think I’d go with Ndamukong Suh.

ANSWER: That’s a good answer, as former Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is a bad man and plenty tough. This question comes from when I asked Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles who he would pick from the current roster to back up him in a street fight on his recent appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast on Monday, June 2. Bowles picked 6-foot-1, 205-pound wide receiver Chris Godwin, which was certainly a curious choice.

From the current roster, I would select 347-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea, who is incredibly strong, agile and intimidating. If Vea was backing me up, there might not even be a fight. It might be over before it ever started. You’d have to be stupid to pick a fight with Vea. The dude can beat double teams and sometimes even triple teams.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If I had to select a former Buccaneer from the all-time roster, I would certainly include Suh and Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp into the equation for my pick. Suh is 313 pounds of sheer power and he had plenty of nasty in him as a player. Not only would Suh be able to take down just about anybody in a street fight, he would stomp them to finish it.

Sapp had a glare that would intimidate any offensive lineman back in the day, plus he had a mouth that would get under the skin of the players he faced and rattle them. Not to mention his strength and catlike quickness. Sapp was raised in Apopka, Fla. so he has that country boy strength to him.

I don’t think I could go wrong with Suh, Sapp or Vea backing me up. Heck, I’d just get out of the way and let them do the fighting. I’m going to ask Bucs general manager Jason Licht the same question when he joins the Pewter Report Podcast on Monday, June 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. Don’t miss it!