When the Kansas City Chiefs spent a third round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft on a tight end of Tennessee, there was some excitement. He wasn't intended to be Tony Gonzalez's eventual replacement but those questions and comparisons (or lack thereof) surfaced before he even began his rookie season.
A seven catch rookie year ended many of those questions and I think there were a lot of us that began to write off Cottam's future with the Chiefs.
Now, Cottam has, for the first time in his career, caught a pass in three consecutive games including a career high 62 yards on four catches against the Cleveland Browns yesterday. His eight catches over the last three games are more than he caught his entire rookie campaign.
"It feels good because you go out there and practice and work on things all week. Then, when things work, you get to get the ball a little bit, it feels good."
Cottam recognized the fact that career highs don't really matter if you don't win the game (just ask Jamaal Charles). However, it's an encouraging development in an otherwise obscure season for Chiefs tight ends.
He also said the Chiefs were doing a little more motion and a hurry up offense to keep the defense off balance. With his career high in catches, he was obviously one of the beneficiaries of the offensive moves.
"The whole game, we’re talking to each other, telling them what we’re seeing, they might have two safeties or just one, and what we think we can do. We try to keep it within the offensive plan for the week, but we’re talking the whole time and trying to see what we can exploit on the defense."