After Mike Evans shocked everyone at One Buc Place by snubbing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a move to another NFC playoff contender in the San Francisco 49ers over in the other Bay Area, Chris Godwin Jr. became the top dog in the Buccaneers wide receiver room.
It's an important role and honestly a high honor, and with the way the young guns are looking this offseason, Godwin has an even more important role as a mentor and leader, especially with Evans, a future Hall of Famer, out of the building.
Godwin has a huge year ahead of him, and it has been a little bit since he has performed like one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Injuries have played a huge role in the veteran wide receiver not being as impactful, but back when he was healthy, he honestly was not all that far off from Evans in terms of his impact on NFL defenses.
Chris Godwin is the new top dog
Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback Baker Mayfield recently spoke a bit about the wide receivers at his disposal following Mike Evans's surprising snub of the organization this spring, and he, in particular, talked up the impact Chris Godwin will have as the veteran of the group.
Mayfield told the Buccaneers official site, "For Mike [Evans] to leave, it allows Chris [Godwin] to step up — he's always been an unbelievable leader — but for him to really take charge of that room. There's a lot of weapons in that room."
Clearly, Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers are still hurt by Evans's departure, but that may honestly be more from an emotional perspective than anything else. And as Mayfield highlights, a lot of that can be mitigated pretty significantly by Godwin stepping up and being that locker room leader, taking charge of the other receivers.
Ted Hurst is a rookie with a world of potential, Tez Johnson is the biggest sleeper in the squad, Emeka Egbuka can be what Godwin was for Evans, Godwin can be what Evans was for the Bucs, and Jalen McMillan has the tools to be legitimately just as brilliant as Egbuka, too. There are five wide receivers in this team that could break games open witih their quality.
But there is only one true leader and that is Godwin. If he gets back on track and leads this group by example, then Mayfield is right. These guys can be a great group of weapons for their star quarterback.
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