Chris Godwin had a breakout season in 2019 and here are the predictions for his 2020 season with a quarterback that loves to utilize slot receivers.
Chris Godwin was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in 2019 and there are no signs that point to that changing in 2020. Godwin may be losing his gunslinging quarterback in Jameis Winston, but odds are that this upcoming season will be full of improvements for the Penn State man.
The Buccaneers had a gift and a curse in Jameis. His ability to continue throwing the ball despite the score was second to none in the league, and this certainly played into Godwin and Evans being able to coexist.
While Mike Evans is still the WR1 for the Buccaneers, Chris Godwin will likely reap the majority of the benefits of Tom Brady coming to town. This is mostly because Brady loves throwing to slot receivers.
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Throughout his impressive career, Tom Brady has thrown the ball the most to Wes Welker and Julian Edelman, two slot receivers.
Players like Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski are honorable mentions for the favorite options of Brady, but no one can deny the sheer volume of targets for slot receivers in a Tom Brady offense.
As the most recent example, in 2019 Julian Edelman had a staggering 153 targets in 16 games played with a catch rate of 65.4%. Godwin had 121 targets with Winston in 14 games with a catch rate of 71.1%.
The biggest reason why Godwin will thrive with Tom Brady is his high level of production. When looking at players with high volume such as this, yards per target is often a more telling stat than yards per catch as it better shows the efficiency in the quarterback-wide receiver connection.
Chris Godwin blew Julian Edelman out of the water in 2019 with 11.0 yards per target relative to Edelman’s 7.3 yards per target.
Looking on to 2020, if one were to combine Godwin’s production with the number of targets that Edelman received, an unquestionable First-team All-Pro selectee is created.
With Julian Edelman’s targets from 2019, Chris Godwin would have been targeted 153 times for 109 receptions, 1,690 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns based on Godwin’s rate of production.
While a direct comparison such as this is not a perfect science, the smart money is on Chris Godwin taking a step forward in 2020 and solidifying his spot as one of the top slot receivers in the NFL under Tom Brady.
One must assume that Chris Godwin will get fewer targets than Edelman because of Tampa Bay’s plethora of talented pass-catchers, but Godwin is far better after the catch than his counterpart in New England.
Chris Godwin was the sixth-best player in the league in yards after catch in 2019 according to foxsports.com. This would allow him to maintain his efficiency despite a potential drop off in targets.
Regardless of what happens, expect Chris Godwin to stay in the conversation for one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in 2020. The Buccaneers have the best one-two punch in the league with their receivers, and Tom Brady will use that to his advantage.
Prediction for Chris Godwin in 2020:
100 Receptions, 1,500 yards, and 9 touchdowns to go along with a Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro selection