Chris Godwin is a man on a mission. I mentioned before the season that Godwin was in for a huge year and it was for a lot of different reasons. Liam Coen’s offense, his health, his return to the slot, the addition of Jalen McMillan - but no one expected this kind of start to the season. Once again, Godwin had a huge day and this time around he was a big reason the offense was able to get moving against the Lions.
Godwin finished with seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown - which came on a 41-yard catch and run thanks to Mike Evans’ ability to draw the defense’s attention away and clear the path for Godwin. So through two weeks, Godwin has been targeted sixteen times, has fifteen receptions, 200 yards, and two touchdowns - all of these are the most on the team or, in the case of touchdowns, tied for the most on the team.
Last season, it took until the third game for Godwin to reach his sixteenth target, his fourth game to get his fifteenth reception, the fourth game to reach his 200th yard, and he had just two touchdown receptions all season. Heading into this game, I often pointed to Cooper Kupp’s performance against the Lions as the blueprint for how Godwin should be used. Godwin ended up with seven more yards on half the receptions and almost a third of the targets Kupp had.
Chris Godwin has officially put the league on notice - he’s all the way back. And no one should expect this kind of production to stop any time soon.
In Coen’s offense, Godwin is a vital part of ensuring the offense keeps moving the sticks and extending drives to get into scoring range. He’s the go-to guy on third downs, he’s the go-to guy on a key play, and there aren’t many - if any - teams that can actually match up with him when he keeps lining up inside. You aren’t going to stop him with a slot corner, you certainly aren’t going to stop him with a linebacker, so what are teams supposed to do?
This is why the Bucs were criminally underrated coming into the season. Too many people didn’t realize that this offense has the most potential of any team since 2021. Defenses have to pick their poison - Godwin will carve you up, but if you put too many resources on him you’re going to have to deal with Evans dominating you one-on-one. If you double both of them, the Bucs will give you Jalen McMillan or Rachaad White and Bucky Irving out of the backfield.
This wealth of weapons for Baker Mayfield is what gives the Bucs a chance in just about any game they play. Of course, they have to execute - but to this point, they have.
Week in, week out, it’ll be Godwin that the offense funnels through and how the Bucs are going to be able to get off to so many fast starts. As the game evolves, like Sunday against the Lions, teams will adjust. That doesn’t mean they’ll stop them though. Not every team has an Aiden Hutchinson going up against a backup right tackle and can live in the backfield. Not every team is going to let Godwin run wild, uncontested, for the first half of a game. But if they do, Mike and Jalen will be waiting for their mismatches so they can take over games.
All that’s happened over the first two weeks is Godwin showing he’s still one of the best in the league - and his price tag rapidly rising. Gonna go ahead and suggest Jason Licht and his crew get an extension figured out sooner than later because Godwin’s price is only going to get higher by the week.
Chris Godwin is a man on a mission. I mentioned before the season that Godwin was in for a huge year and it was for a lot of different reasons. Liam Coen’s offense, his health, his return to the slot, the addition of Jalen McMillan - but no one expected this kind of start to the season. Once again, Godwin had a huge day and this time around he was a big reason the offense was able to get moving against the Lions.
Godwin finished with seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown - which came on a 41-yard catch and run thanks to Mike Evans’ ability to draw the defense’s attention away and clear the path for Godwin. So through two weeks, Godwin has been targeted sixteen times, has fifteen receptions, 200 yards, and two touchdowns - all of these are the most on the team or, in the case of touchdowns, tied for the most on the team.
Last season, it took until the third game for Godwin to reach his sixteenth target, his fourth game to get his fifteenth reception, the fourth game to reach his 200th yard, and he had just two touchdown receptions all season. Heading into this game, I often pointed to Cooper Kupp’s performance against the Lions as the blueprint for how Godwin should be used. Godwin ended up with seven more yards on half the receptions and almost a third of the targets Kupp had.
Chris Godwin has officially put the league on notice - he’s all the way back. And no one should expect this kind of production to stop any time soon.
In Coen’s offense, Godwin is a vital part of ensuring the offense keeps moving the sticks and extending drives to get into scoring range. He’s the go-to guy on third downs, he’s the go-to guy on a key play, and there aren’t many - if any - teams that can actually match up with him when he keeps lining up inside. You aren’t going to stop him with a slot corner, you certainly aren’t going to stop him with a linebacker, so what are teams supposed to do?
This is why the Bucs were criminally underrated coming into the season. Too many people didn’t realize that this offense has the most potential of any team since 2021. Defenses have to pick their poison - Godwin will carve you up, but if you put too many resources on him you’re going to have to deal with Evans dominating you one-on-one. If you double both of them, the Bucs will give you Jalen McMillan or Rachaad White and Bucky Irving out of the backfield.
This wealth of weapons for Baker Mayfield is what gives the Bucs a chance in just about any game they play. Of course, they have to execute - but to this point, they have.
Week in, week out, it’ll be Godwin that the offense funnels through and how the Bucs are going to be able to get off to so many fast starts. As the game evolves, like Sunday against the Lions, teams will adjust. That doesn’t mean they’ll stop them though. Not every team has an Aiden Hutchinson going up against a backup right tackle and can live in the backfield. Not every team is going to let Godwin run wild, uncontested, for the first half of a game. But if they do, Mike and Jalen will be waiting for their mismatches so they can take over games.
All that’s happened over the first two weeks is Godwin showing he’s still one of the best in the league - and his price tag rapidly rising. Gonna go ahead and suggest Jason Licht and his crew get an extension figured out sooner than later because Godwin’s price is only going to get higher by the week.
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