Mike Evans, Chris Godwin give Buccaneers best duo in the league
By Jamil King
No stopping Evans and Godwin
Quarterback Jameis Winston is finally finding some consistency under new head coach Bruce Arians, and has thrown for 380 yards in back-to-back weeks for the Buccaneers. During those two games, Chris Godwin has 212 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evans has 281 yards and four touchdowns.
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The Bucs have not had two receivers go over the 1,000-yard mark since 2014 when Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson both hit the mark. Now in 2019, both Evans and Godwin are not only on pace for 1,000 yards, but for 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns apiece. Godwin is in elite company, on pace for 100 catches as well for the Buccaneers.
They could also make fantasy football history as well; both Godwin and Evans are top five wide receivers in fantasy football right now. If that holds, they would be the first set of teammates to finish as top five fantasy tandems at the wide receiver position since Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders did it in 2014 for the Denver Broncos.
As the duo continues to dominate defenses, it is also destined to open things up for the rest of the offense as teams are finding out that they cannot double team Godwin or Evans, because that is a scheme to set themselves up to get beat by the other. If you focus on both of them, then that is when tight ends O.J. Howard or Cameron Brate can punish opposing teams over the middle of the field.
This also helps the running game when teams are so worried about stopping passes 20 yards down the field. It is not a surprise that both Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber have found more space to run this year compared to last. In fact, Jones is on pace for right around 1,000 yards, and given more touches, he will hit that mark.
Next. Buccaneers have an Offensive Player of the Year candidate in Jameis Winston. dark
Through the first four weeks of the season, Evans and Godwin have put their stamp as the best duo in the league at this moment; it is up to them to carry that title through the rest of the season. On pace for double-digit touchdowns and 1,500 yards apiece, Winston, the running backs, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich all will have more options as the season moves forward.