Rookie SWOT: Chris Godwin

Bruce Matson Posted On May 29, 2017

Editor’s Note: DLF is proud to bring you an annual staple series – the Rookie SWOT. These articles cover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved with rookies now that they’ve been drafted. Make sure you check out the DLF Rookie Draft Guide for all the information you need to dominate your rookie drafts.

Name: Chris Godwin

Position: Wide Receiver

Pro Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

College Team: Penn State Nittany Lions

Draft Status: Round Three, Pick No. 84 Overall

Video Highlights

Combine Review

Height: 6’1’’

Weight: 209 Pounds

Hands: 9 1/8’’

Arm Length: 31 5/8’’

Bench Press (225 Pounds): 19 Reps

40-Yard-Dash: 4.42

20-Yard-Shuttle: 4.00

3-Cone: 7.01

Vertical: 36’’

Strengths

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Godwin is one of the best deep threats in this draft class, specifically doing a very good job at tracking down and catching passes thrown deep downfield. He’s a very savvy route runner who can create separation from defensive backs by being very efficient while running his routes and can run almost the entire route tree. One of his best attributes is his aggressiveness at the catch point due to his “my ball” mentality where’s he’s always ready to out muscle or fight the defender for the ball. Godwin is a natural hands catcher who is tremendous at making contested catches down field or in the end zone.

He was very productive in college, catching 154 passes for 2,421 yards and 18 touchdowns during his three-year collegiate career. He owned a 26.90 percent market share of the team’s passing offense during his junior year and a 39.49 percent market share, ranking third in the nation during his sophomore season.

Weaknesses

Even though he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine, he doesn’t always have the speed to pull away from defenders downfield – this is one of the reasons why he wasn’t one of the best receivers in the nation at creating yards after the catch. He also lacks the short area quickness to create separation from tacklers in the open field. Sometimes he will get pushed around by bigger defensive backs and is susceptible at getting thrown off his route while getting pressed at the line of scrimmage.

Opportunities

Tampa Bay’s depth chart appears to be log-jammed with talent at the wide receiver position, but he will eventually get a chance to carve a role as the team’s stretch-X wide receiver once DeSean Jackson moves on to another destination either by retirement, trade or by signing with another team. Jackson signed a three-year $33.5 million deal in March. However, his contract presents zero dead cap space in the third year of his deal, which is in 2019, making it easy for the Buccaneers to cut him. Jackson is currently 30 years old and his talents should slowly start to diminish due to age and wear and tear. Godwin should receive plenty of chances during the second and third year of his career to become the team’s starting stretch-X wide receiver.

Jameis Winston is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and he’s not afraid to throw the ball deep, making Godwin the perfect complement in Tampa Bay’s passing game. Winston is 23 years old and is signed with the team through 2018 with a potential fifth-year option, which would keep him on the roster through 2019 – this is a good thing because it means Godwin should have stability at the quarterback position throughout his career, providing him the opportunity to build a rapport with Winston during his tenure with Tampa Bay.

Threats

Mike Evans, OJ Howard, DeSean Jackson and some of the other talented pass catchers on the offense are going to compete with Godwin for targets. Evans is the team’s star wide receiver and should command a large target share of the targets throughout the duration of this career, making it tough for Godwin to own a large portion of the team’s passing targets. Injuries would have to occur in order for him to ever be the Buccaneers’ leading receiver.

Keep in mind Doug Martin, Charles Sims and Jeremy McNichols are all talented pass catching options out of the backfield, which unfortunately provides even more competition for targets in the offense. Last year the running back corps received 83 passing targets, equating to a 14.36 percent target share.

Short-Term Expectations

Expect Godwin to slowly get acclimated into the offense with him playing sparingly during his rookie season. An injury to either DeSean Jackson or Mike Evans would need to happen for him to see a considerable amount of playing time. Depending on how he plays in training camp and during his rookie season, he should see an uptick in snaps during his second season. Don’t be surprised if his career starts off a little slow during the first few years.

Long-Term Expectations

There should be a massive increase to his production within the second to third year of his career. Within just a few years, he should be almost fully developed and acclimated to the NFL game, therefore he should be ready to take the reins as the team’s second receiver lining up on the opposite side of Mike Evans. It might be wise to try to acquire him via trade for a discount after his rookie season. Expect him to be a volatile WR2 in fantasy during the majority of his career due to the inconsistent number of targets he will be receiving on a game-to-game basis. His ability to catch the deep ball could make him a solid best ball play.

NFL Comparison

Athletically, he compares to Sammy Watkins as both players are almost identical when it comes to height, weight, 40-time, 3-cone and vertical. The main difference between the two players is that Watkins is more explosive after the catch and his speed is more transcendent to his on-field play.

He also compares to Pierre Garcon, due to his ability to run a full route tree and his physical nature at the catch point. Both players tend the line up at the perimeter, while playing limited snaps in the slot. However, Godwin might not be as productive as Garcon because of the limited number of targets in Tampa’s offense.

Projected Range for Rookie Drafts

According to DLF’s Rookie ADP, Godwin is being selected as a late first to an early second round rookie pick with an ADP of 14.60, making him on average the fifth wide receiver off the board. He’s one of the better wide receiver prospects in this draft class and he is definitely deserving of being drafted in the top-20 of rookie drafts. There should be a buying window at the end of the 2017 season for owners who missed out on being able to acquire him in this year’s rookie drafts. There’s nothing wrong with spending an early second round pick on him, especially if you believe in his talents. There’s also a chance his draft stock drops a little bit during the summer if there are any negative news or any injuries during training camp.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.