Legendary NFL head coach Bill Parcells, whose voice still carries a lot of weight with current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head man Todd Bowles, used to refer to the word "potential" as the "p" word, and the Bucs have to be especially wary of that in 2026.
Because the Bucs do have a lot of potential. Baker Mayfield has the potential to be an MVP. The Bucs defense has the potential to be great and have two potentially elite pass rushers in YaYa Diaby and rookie Rueben Bain Jr. The Bucs running game has the potential to be the best in the league. The wide receivers have the potential to be even better without Mike Evans. Cade Otton has the potential to be a top tight end. And the Bucs as a team have the potential to be a Super Bowl dark horse.
It is a slippery slope, and it does not get any slippier than when talking about the wide receivers. Now, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan did legitimately do great things last season, so hyping them up as breakout stars is not entirely unwarranted. However, the word "potential" is thrown around a lot with these two at the expense of the actual No. 1 wide receiver on the depth chart in Chris Godwin Jr.
Chris Godwin has shown he is still Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top WR
Again, none of this should be about disparaging or neglecting Egbuka and McMillan. They are already quality NFL wide receivers, and their potential is more about the potential to take that next step towards being elite. Yet it is weird that people are boosting them at the expense of remembering what Godwin has already done and proven in this league.
Chris Godwin is a bona fide star wide receiver who was just in the shadow of Mike Evans. He is a Super Bowl champion with four 1,000-yard seasons, including a 1,300-yard season. He has four 80-catch seasons in his career, including one with 98 receptions and another with 104 receptions.
No, Godwin has not been at his sterling best these last couple of seasons due to injury, but entering his age-30 season, the Penn State grad is far from washed. He is a star player in his prime who is a proven commodity as an ace wideout, and he is getting his first real shot to be the No. 1 guy for a full season. And while that has "potential" implied in it, Godwin's stats in the past, such as 104 receptions, are that of a No. 1 guy in an NFL offense. Overlook him at your peril.
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