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Buccaneers: 2017 End of Year Player Awards for Tampa Bay

By David Harrison

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: Josh Robinson #26 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lavonte David #54 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate after David recovered a fumble during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: Josh Robinson #26 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lavonte David #54 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate after David recovered a fumble during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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2018 Breakout Player: Wide Receiver, Chris Godwin

There are quite a few worthy candidates to be the Buccaneers’ breakout player in 2018. There’s Peyton Barber, who should be getting a legitimate shot to be the No. 2 back, perhaps behind a rookie. That unknown rookie could be getting the bulk of the carries, making him a breakout candidate. Kendell Beckwith had a nice rookie season and could step up again in 2018. Back at safety, Justin Evans has a ton of talent that might lead to him breaking out.

All of those are strong candidates, but the top candidate for a breakout 2018 campaign has to be wide receiver Chris Godwin. He was a third-round steal in the 2017 draft and came out with a good rookie year. He caught 34 passes for 525 yards and a touchdown, averaging 15.4 yards per catch. He developed a better connection with Jameis Winston in the season’s final stretch, which could only get better in the off-season.

Not only should the connection between Winston and Godwin improve throughout the spring and summer, but his looks should increase next year. He only had 56 targets this season and with his rise in production at the end of 2017, there’s no doubt he’ll get even more next season. His performance in the final game of the season really gave Tampa Bay a lot to look forward to in his sophomore season. In the season-closing win over the Saints, he caught seven of his twelve targets for 111 yards and his first career touchdown. That touchdown came from 39 yards out with nine seconds to go, earning Tampa Bay the win. For his efforts, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

There’s so much potential with Godwin as Tampa Bay’s No. 2 option behind Mike Evans. Even with DeSean Jackson likely to return, the Bucs would surely love to see their 2017 third-round pick emerge as a consistent go-to guy in what should be a dynamic offense.

-Bailey Adams

Next: DeSean Jackson Needs to Come Back

This wraps up our end of year awards for the 2017 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and wraps up our coverage of the season that was.

What are your thoughts about the awardees? Are there any you would have picked differently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter!

Thanks as always, for reading!

"Need more discussion on the 2017 season? Check out the recap episode of the Walking the Plank Podcast!"

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