WR Chris Godwin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2nd Year
2017 Stats: 34 receptions, 525 yards, 1 TD
Over the final eight games of his rookie season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin had 26 receptions (on 43 targets) for 442 yards and a touchdown. Compare that to the first half of the season (eight catches for 83 yards on 12 targets), and it qualifies as a serious surge.
Godwin ended last year on a high note, with seven receptions (on 12 targets) for 111 yards and a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. He had at least six targets and 68 yards in three of the final four games, which prompted Buccaneers’ general manager Jason Licht to say Godwin “earned the right for a bigger role” at the NFL Combine in February.
Godwin has carried strong offseason work into training camp, prompting indications he will start opposite Mike Evans. DeSean Jackson is of course still in the mix, but Godwin is apparently seen internally as a more complete player. So is the second year man out of Penn State in line for a breakout in 2018?
Godwin has decent size (6-foot-1, 209 pounds) and great speed (4.42 40 at the 2017 NFL Combine). His averages of 9.5 yards per target and 15.4 yards per catch both were top-15 among wide receivers last year, which points strongly to upside in a bigger role.
But with Evans and Jackson as Tampa Bay’s top two wide receivers, Godwin is likely competing most directly with Adam Humphries (61 catches last year) for snaps out of the slot. The tight end duo of Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard can’t be forgotten, along with Ryan Fitzpatrick replacing Jameis Winston under center during a three-game suspension to start the season.
Godwin edges into Fantasy Football Calculator’s ADP data (12-team leagues) in full-point (WR63) and half-point PPR leagues (WR67), which makes him a late-round lottery ticket as a 13th or 14th-round pick in a 15-round draft. It won’t take much to outperform that draft position, and Godwin’s ceiling would go way up if Evans or Jackson were to miss significant time.
If you’re in a dynasty league, this looks like the year to get him dirt cheap. But as a pure breakout candidate for 2018, there is a lot working against Godwin right now.
Chris Godwin 2018 Projection: 45 receptions for 660 yards, 3 TD
Breakout Percentage: 25%
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