The Tampa Bay Buccaneers watched legendary wide receiver Mike Evans walk out the door and join another NFC playoff contender in the San Francisco 49ers, and as bad as that stung to see, the Bucs have to believe they can be better as an offense win 2026 with a motivated Baker Mayfield running the show and no shortage of young targets to hit down the field like Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka.
But the most eyes should still be on the veteran wide receiver of the group. Chris Godwin Jr. is a former 100-reception receiver in the NFL and a trusted target of Tom Brady who won a Super Bowl, and he is one of the best receivers in the league when he gets going. The biggest question with Godwin isn't talent but rather staying healthy, and he now has even more motivation to prove to the rest of the league that he is an elite receiver now that he can fully step out of the shadow of Evans.
For the Buccaneers, it is of paramount importance to get the most out of Godwin in 2026, because as talented as Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, and rookie third round wide receiver Ted Hurst is, Godwin is the guy who had three straight 1,000 yard seasons in this league and another with more than 1,300 back in 2019 - and in just 14 games total.
Chris Godwin needs to stay healthy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to keep Chris Godwin Jr. healthy in 2026, and one way to do that is to get away from doing what they have been doing with him over the past few seasons when it has been a struggle for the Penn State grad to stay on the field.
As much as Godwin can be an asset in that old "Big Slot" role that Vincent Jackson used to play earlier in the 2010s when he was the clear lead guy at the wide receiver position before Mike Evans really blew up, playing Godwin over the middle of the field and spamming crossers is a great way to get him blown up and done for the season.
Let Godwin hover on the outside and get tackled by cornerbacks instead of getting absolutely shelled by safeties and linebackers over the middle where his momentum carries him right into their path. Let him move the chains safely on the outside, win contested catches outside the numbers, and avoid the plays that will take him out and hurt the Bucs playoff chances in turn.
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