Watching Chris Godwin
May 20th, 2018
Breakout season? (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
There are more than a few players Bucs fans will be watching with keen interest come September.
One, of course ,is America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. That almost goes without saying.
Then there is Gerald McCoy. The stud defensive tackle has all sorts of talent around him for the first time since some ignoramus at One Buc Palace decided to let Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason.
Jason Pierre-Paul? Acquiring JPP for Bucs fans is sort of like buying an iRobot. It’s been so long since Bucs fans saw an edge rusher in these parts folks don’t know what to expect.
And then there is running back Ronald Jones. Can he fill the void that would give the Bucs potentially the most complete offense in the NFL south of Pittsburgh?
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report thinks Bucs fans should be looking out for another player. That would be wide receiver Chris Godwin. Gagnon believes Godwin very easily could blow up this fall.
Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries all saw far more work than 2017 third-round pick Chris Godwin in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ receiving corps last season, but Godwin capped his rookie campaign with 10 catches for 209 yards in Tampa Bay’s final two games.
This offseason, Bucs general manager Jason Licht admitted the 22-year-old Penn State product earned the right for a bigger role. The Tampa offense likely will encounter some changes as Todd Monken moves into a full-time offensive coordinator role. That should give Godwin a chance to make a fresh impression when the Buccaneers launch OTAs next week.
If Godwin can deliver this spring, he should be on track to start stealing most of Humphries’ snaps—and perhaps some of Jackson’s—come September.
Well, let’s not get carried away with the offensive coordinator. Yes, Monken has more duties but don’t get lost in the job titles. Dirk Koetter is still running the offense.
But yeah, Joe is as geeked for Godwin as the next guy. If Godwin does blow up, the Bucs really could have a silly offense.
May 20th, 2018 at 11:35 am
He’s better than Desean already. And more reliable. Should be a starter if they don’t play favorites.
May 20th, 2018 at 11:40 am
Arrows definitely pointing up with this kid.
May 20th, 2018 at 11:49 am
This is one of the reasons why I wish we would have or still will trade DeSean Jackson. Nothing against DeSean but I feel like we almost have too many weapons on offense and DeSean by having the ball forced to him is taking Snaps away from other capable players. I think we could trade DeSean and get much needed help on the defense and not miss a beat on the offensive side of the ball.
May 20th, 2018 at 11:52 am
Aside from Howard, this pick of Godwin I liked the best in last year’s draft.
May 20th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Kid is a pro on every level
May 20th, 2018 at 12:08 pm
can we say Jameis is about the 17th best qb?
May 20th, 2018 at 12:10 pm
Not many excuses left for Jameis now….
May 20th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
I don’t agree with Chris Godwin taking snaps from Adam Humphries as they play different roles for the Bucs. Godwin is, in my mind a bona fide #2 if not a #1 receiver, while Humphries is a bona fide possession receiver from the slot. If anyone loses snaps to Godwin it should be DeSean Jackson, which could make for a difficult balancing act between Jackson and Godwin, an act I’m not sure the Bucs’ coaches are up to.
May 20th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
I agree that Godwin should be taking snaps away from DJAX.
Godwin has so much more fight in him you can just see it and fee it. DJAX is a luxury not a necessity and unless he makes a big jump this year I’d rather we trade him. And I don’t see him putting in the effort to bring his play to the next level here in TB. Who cares what he did in other areas in the past. What can he do for us right now, because last year it wasn’t much!!!
May 20th, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Godwin is fantastic…..really stands out when he is in the game….again, we are talking depth here….there are snaps to go around…..if our D can get us the ball back more often and limit the opponent’s time of possession, there will be even more snaps.
Don’t forget our two pass-catching TEs…..I expect they will be used quite often along with our receiving backs……lots of targets, lots of catches. Let’s keep our kicker out of the game for FGs and in the game for more KOs…..
May 20th, 2018 at 1:10 pm
Can’t believe any Bucs fan would read this positive article on Godwin and think this is a perfect opertunity to bash our Qb (Winston).
May 20th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
Aristotle
Normally that might seem like hyperbole but I think you are correct in this case. I think Godwin is already better than DJAX. Of course DJAX is still the better deep threat but as we saw in that final game against N.O. Godwin can get to the house as well and he’s far more dependable and he’ll do things like throw a GOOD block that DJAX does not.
Imagine ROJO is the real deal and he breaks through to the secondary and there is Godwin who flattens the safety enabling ROJO to go….all….the….way!!!
May 20th, 2018 at 1:22 pm
With Goodwin, Bobo Wilson, and now Watson, Humphries could be the odd man out. Certainly trade bait.
May 20th, 2018 at 1:24 pm
DJax in the sloot full time and Godwin + Evans on the outside. Y’all stoopid
May 20th, 2018 at 1:44 pm
Have Justin Watson blow up and him and Godwin can split it up in the slot. Also have Godwin split plays with DJax.
May 20th, 2018 at 1:57 pm
Who was it throwing him the ball the last two games where he got the 209 yards?
I think it was the man who played elite once he returned from injury.
May 20th, 2018 at 2:08 pm
As coach K said last season – any and all noise about target and catch “counts” per weapon goes away when the team is winning consistently.
The idea that we need to get “rid” of DJax because the offense would be better without him is just ridiculous.
More weapons is GOOD. Less weapons is BAD. DUH!
Its the NFL – injuries occur with regularity. A team’s position “strength” can become a weakness with just a couple unfortunate plays at any time.
Remember how quickly into the season we were down to our 4th and 5th RBs year before last?
May 20th, 2018 at 2:56 pm
So much hate for DeSean Jackson. Probably more Licht’s fault for not getting the correct fit for the team. But Desean clearly had more speed than anyone on the team last year. It appears that Godwin clearly fits Jameis better with his size and wingspan. Again Desean was not the problem, it was hitting him when he was open deep that was the problem. It was not running hardly any crossing routes for him to create mismatches with his speed.
For anyone that says that Godwin has Desean Jackson speed, I do not see it on the field (either with the Bucs or Penn State). Godwin will win with route running, hands, and leaping ability much more than having any kind of NFL elite speed.
I’d like to keep all the receivers this year including Desean.
May 20th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
If Jackson gives us the same low production then Goodwin should be playing outside. Problem is you cant throw Djax on the bench so Dirk has to be prepared and ready to adjust. Two thongs he aint good at.
May 20th, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Its the problem you get with a high salary Djax. He is going to command playing time regardless of production. Sounds fine in a chatroom to say move him to slot but maybe he dont wanna play slot. He surely shouldnt play there on third downs……..These high profile players sometimes bring entitement issues to the team. Heck, T.J. Ward brought entitlement baggage to the team last year without a high salary.
Maybe Djax is a team guy and doesnt bring that kind of noise. But Dirk knows he needs to get more from the WR2 spot. If it is a delicate situation then good luck.
May 20th, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Look…….lifelong Gators fan here who was Totally on board with the JW3 pick! (disclaimer noted) However if he doesn’t take the next step this yr with the BEST set of Offensive weapons the Bucs have Ever had then I will concede to the Haters! This said, I hope it all works out.
May 20th, 2018 at 6:26 pm
Dump djax….hes a bum
May 20th, 2018 at 7:11 pm
Having the weapons that we have at receiver is a good problem to have. It will be up to the coaches to get the best players on the field, depending on the matchup and situation. That being said, DJax is not the problem nor a problem. If Godwin is the future #1 or #2 then you have to find a way to get him on the field…..alot. If there needs to be an odd man out then it needs to be Humphries! Evans, Godwin, Djax =matchup nightmare! Throw in our TE’s and RB’s, Bucs O should be running the score up! Much of that will be on the coaches!
May 20th, 2018 at 7:19 pm
Only one true question – Jameis Winston’s maturation and consistency and accuracy.
Offense won’t go anywhere without his improvement.
May 20th, 2018 at 8:08 pm
If you asked 32 defensive coordinators who they feared more djax or godwin it would be a 32 to 0 vote for djax. Godwin has done nothing. Djax is still a top 3 feared deep threat in league regardless of the feelings of the ignorant bucfans. Simply just stupid talk.
May 20th, 2018 at 8:19 pm
Imagine if we use Djax more than just the go route. He is better than most at crossing patterns, and I do believe his longest play of the year came on a crossing pattern play against N.E. IMO , they dont have to send him deep every time in order for him to be effective. I also would love to see him return a few punts, and not only while we are trailing and hoping for a miracle return, he should absolutely be involved in the return game moe often this year, especially with our depth at wr. I know more injuries can happen with punt returns, but I wouldn’t be upset to see him week 1 returning a couple punts on that turf in the bayou. And absolutely think the trade talk is outrageously idiotic. Go Bucs !
May 20th, 2018 at 8:40 pm
Reality
As much I as I don’t like djx on this team and what nobody talk about is the opposite teams defensive sets against our offense. When djx was in the game I saw almost every team and every week every play go 2 deep. No respect for the run game. All pass prevention plays. Or just say I didn’t see as many before djx got here. Too bad djx only came to here to the highest bidder. The Bucs
May 20th, 2018 at 8:50 pm
Really excited to see Godwin and Howard unleashed this season.
Put Godwin on the outside and D-Jax in the slot to run those crossing routes.
May 20th, 2018 at 8:59 pm
Yep, I second that unbe. Hes going to shine for us….btw, VJax has officially retired, saw that earlier.
May 20th, 2018 at 9:20 pm
@ Reality….Djax shows no fight, no grit, no want , no hunger. When you ask 32 nil OC’s about Mike Smith, they will probably all say good things out of respect….but that means jack SHLT!!!!!
Godwin has more want, more grit, and more of the teams respect than Djax. Design can sit his sorry ARSE on the bench and get traded for a backup kicker for all I care.
PUT THE BEST HARDEST WORKING GUYS ON THE FIELD!!! NOT SOMEONE WHO QUITS ON A PLAY BECAUSE HE DOESNT WANT TO MESS UP HIS MANICURE!!!!!
May 20th, 2018 at 9:24 pm
DJAX, NEVER SHOULD HAVE HIRED THAT BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He used to be a hard working try hard grinder. Now that he got paid….her’s all about that HOMIE LIFE and crashing pickups into trees with hollow points and that gooooooood greeeeeeeeen!!!!!!!
KICK THAT HAS BEEN OUTA HERE OR PUT HIS PUNK ARSE AT KICK RETURN!!!
May 20th, 2018 at 9:30 pm
@madmax
yea I saw something about that this morning… Thought he had retired last year, but I guess it wasn’t official. Probably waited to see if a playoff team came caliing late in the season.
May 20th, 2018 at 11:37 pm
Compl %. Fumbles. Total turnovers
Winston 61% 31 59
P. Manning 62.5% 14 65
B. Farve 60.5% 33 64
A. Luck 58.5% 29 56
Here are some stats to compare vs JW3 over the 1st three years starting (Farve sat his 1st season in ATL) not to mention JW was younger and the only one to play with a significant injury. Hopefully this will stop all the hand wringing about next step etc. . This is a maturation process and JW is coming along just fine. Give him a running game and a decent defense and he will have the Bucs in the hunt every year.
May 21st, 2018 at 12:57 am
JOE you cant wait to get rid of Jackson, we will be back to 20 yard passes at most when he leaves cause no deep threat..
M.Clayton had one great year, lets see this guy do it for a few years before you crown him.
YOU SHOULD be calling for winston to hit someone in stride more than 30 yards down field ( oops he did once last play of year)
May 21st, 2018 at 2:50 am
Perfect opportunity (article on Godwin) to criticize the QB. Sad. Go Bucs!
May 21st, 2018 at 8:43 am
What kind of pretzel logic is “dump DJax”….it is not his fault he is not getting the ball delivered on time and to the spot…
May 21st, 2018 at 9:34 am
Godwin is going to play a lot, and on the outside. I see DJax and Evans taking turns in the slot while Godwin plays outside. That means Hump will get a lot less snaps.
May 21st, 2018 at 11:02 am
Some fans just plain STOOPID! Godwin is not better than nor deserving of taking snaps from DJax. DJax is a proven commodity with the right coaching/playcalling. Best word to describe him is PLAYMAKER. You don’t talk about getting rid of talent like that when you’re trying to win. Hump on the other hand is a nice feel good story but not a playmaker nor has he ever contributed for a playoff team, therefore he’s expendable. Godwin is a #3 receiver until proven otherwise. He’s essentially a nickel WR who should allow DJax to move to the slot in 3WR sets. Develop Bobo & Watson as #4 & #5 wideout & brings back Russell Shepherd to compete for #4 & ST reps. You might even get a fifth or sixth round pick for Hump so do it now.
May 21st, 2018 at 12:26 pm
@Raw you might want to back up, you know Hump led the team in YAC right?
May 21st, 2018 at 1:52 pm
How the hell is Godwin better than desean already? Jameis couldn’t get his timing down with DEsean last year. Looked like he thought he was even faster than he was. Hard when you are used to throwing the deep ball to Evans and Martino amongst others. But don’t forget what you saw cousins do with desean. I love Godwin and I full expect him to take the next step but let’s pump the brakes on putting him ahead of a pro bowler… if anything Desean and Jameis need more reps together than anyone else
May 21st, 2018 at 9:59 pm
@MadMax no comparison between DJax & Hump. What Hump brings to the table is easily replaced. OJ & Brate will own the middle of the field now & clear things for the PLAYMAKER DJax. He can take a hitch or a slant to the house on any given play…that’s YAC. Study harder!! LOL. Go Bucs!!!!