While Austin Seferian-Jenkins was kicking his NFL opportunity, Brate stepped up nicely in his third season, tying for the TE league lead with eight touchdowns. Brate was really cooking in the latter part of the season, scoring six times in his final nine starts. As you'd expect, Brate is a red-zone scoring specialist; all of his touchdowns last year came from 12 yards and in, and he's never had a TD catch longer than 20 yards for his career. Brate would be considerably higher on our list if not for the NFL Draft; the Bucs tabbed Alabama TE O.J. Howard with the 19th overall pick in April. Howard's upside is considerably higher than Brate's in the long term, but tight end is a position with a steep learning curve, so don't be surprised if Brate keeps most of his 2016 breakthrough numbers.

Brate's performance last season was the proverbial silver lining in the dark cloud that was Austin Seferian-Jenkins' extended absence due to a shoulder injury. The Harvard product hauled in 23 of 30 targets for 288 yards, along with three touchdowns. He showed some proficiency in getting down the field as well, notching four receptions of over 20 yards, including a long catch of 46 yards. By the latter stages of the season, Brate had clearly surpassed veteran Brandon Myers on the depth chart, helping to render the veteran inactive over the last four regular-season contests. He enters 2016 as the clear-cut second-string pass-catching tight end behind Seferian-Jenkins, and could therefore build on last season's modest foundation.

Brate is not expected to play a significant role with the team this season.