This needs to be a big year for Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin. Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht knows it. So do head coach Todd Bowles, countless fantasy owners and one other critical person.
Chris Godwin.
“He wants to visit the end zone more,” said Ira Kaufman on the Ira Kaufman Podcast after a private chat with Godwin Tuesday. “And Bucs fans want him to visit the end zone more.”
According to Kaufman, longtime NFL writer and now columnist for JoeBucsFan.com, Godwin is excited about his role in coordinator Liam Coen’s offense, back where Godwin’s most comfortable as the slot receiver.
“He flourishes in that spot,” Kaufman said. “That’s what he does. He makes the tough catches.”
And motivating him to make those tough catches this year, in addition to pushing Tampa Bay past the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs, there’s another important factor involved: Godwin enters the final year of his contract.
“I think he definitely wants to stay as a Buccaneer,” Kaufman said. “He doesn’t want to go anywhere else.”
In the short term, curious fantasy owners wonder whether an underrated Godwin will go to the end zone. When Tampa Bay hosts Jayden Daniels and a rebuilt Washington team Sept. 8 in the season-opener, the NFL will get its first look at Godwin in Coen’s offense.
Can Rachaad White improve the Tampa Bay ground attack? And how will rookie Jalen McMillan and veteran Mike Evans affect Godwin’s ability to reach the end zone?
Bowles agrees with Kaufman, that a good rushing offense will help quarterback Baker Mayfield and the team’s ability to attack opponents in the air.
“If you can get the running game straightened out, play-action (passes) are everything,” Bowles said last week. “If you can’t move the ball, play action means nothing. Everybody is just going to sit back and let you sit there – you might as well do dropbacks. It’s imperative for play action to work that we have some type of running game.”