Chris Godwin signed a 3-year deal to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite losing their offensive coordinator and some young talent shining in 2024 the Bucs look to redo last year’s run. The Bucs have won the NFC South the past four years and look to do it again. Godwin stays with the only team he has ever played with. He has seen relative success there with multiple seasons as a high-end WR2 for fantasy managers. Does the Chris Godwin signing help or hurt the other players you are rostering?
Winners of the Chris Godwin Signing
Baker Mayfield: QB- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield has had a massive career turnaround since arriving in Tampa Bay. His highest fantasy finish before was QB16 way back in his 2018 rookie season. In the past two years in Tampa, Baker has finished no lower than QB10. Baker getting Chris Godwin back gives him a sure-handed wide receiver who should help lower his turnover.
In 2024 Baker had 16 interceptions. Godwin missed 10 games that year. In 2023 when Godwin played all 17 games Baker only threw 10 interceptions. While it’s not all on Godwin having a receiver who catches over 70% of his passes is never a bad thing. Godwin only has 22 drops across his seven-year career. I expect Baker Mayfield to repeat as a low-end top 10 quarterback for fantasy this season.
Parker Washington: WR Jacksonville Jaguars
Is Parker Washington a starting wide receiver for an NFL team? He probably shouldn’t be but two huge hurdles are removed. First Christian Kirk was traded to the Texans. That moved Washington up the depth chart. He gets a chance along with Gabe Davis to be the number 2 across from Brian Thomas Jr.
There were a ton of rumors that the Jaguars were interested in signing Chris Godwin. Mainly due to their new head coach Liam Coen being the offensive coordinator and the need for the position. With Chris Godwin signing with the Buccaneers, Washington can hold onto that depth chart spot for a little while longer.
Everyone is still expecting the Jaguars to draft a wide receiver this April. Where they do will have a massive impact on whether Washington gets a starting role or at least a shot at starting in 2025. I don’t want to roster Washington for fantasy football. At the end of the 2024 season, Washington saw significant playing time and had flex-worthy appeal but lacks the upside you want on a flyer player for fantasy.
Chris Godwin: WR- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After suffering another injury in 2024 Chris Godwin had to be questioning what his role would be heading into 2025. When you are in a contract year, you want to go out and put up the best numbers you can. Missing 10 games puts a kink in that plan. Godwin did what he could in his first seven games. He scored five touchdowns and had over 50 yards in every game.
If Godwin were to go to another team he would have to learn a new system and build chemistry with a new quarterback. Staying with Tampa provides Godwin with the best chance to put up solid numbers. His contract is a healthy one with built-in incentives if he does come back to his pre-injury form. I expect Godwin to be a solid WR2 for fantasy. He will have spike weeks but overall he should be solid where you can trust him in your lineup week in and week out.
Losers of the Chris Godwin Signing
Jalen McMillan: WR- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jalen McMillan had a great ending to his rookie season. A season where he dealt with injuries early on. Most fantasy managers were super excited to have him on their roster at the end of 2024. He finished the season with five straight games with a touchdown. He looked like he had fully stepped into the Chris Godwin role as the wide receiver two across from Mike Evans.
With Chris Godwin signing back with the Bucs it puts a bucket of water on the McMillan fire. He now slides into the wide receiver three spots. That role was held most of last season by Sterling Shepard and Trey Palmer. Combined those two only saw 70 targets. It would require McMillan to get all of them to be fantasy-relevant. If he only sees closer to the 50 target mark, which is where I have him, it will be hard to keep him on your roster.
Cade Otton: TE- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cade Otton was everyone’s darling last year in the tight-end position. How could he not be? After being nearly undrafted in most leagues to finishing as TE14 you had to love it. Along the way, he put up some massive TE1 weeks. The issue with Otton now is threefold.
First, Otton will be laying in a slightly new system. With Coen gone, what does the new offensive coordinator Jon Grizzard have in his play-calling bag? Will Otton continue to be a focal point of the offense or does he get relegated down the target depth chart?
Secondly, it revolves around that depth chart. Otton is probably the 3rd best-receiving weapon on the team. He is battling McMillan for that spot. The issue for both of them is that the running backs, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White are both good receiving backs. That moves Otton behind at least one of them for targets. If he is 4th in total targets his fantasy production will dip significantly.
Thirdly, we have to look at the big weeks that Otton had in 2024. Most of the big weeks came when both Mike Evans Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan were hurt. Or at least two of the three. Down the stretch run, Otton fell off before missing time with an injury. Otton went from averaging 9 targets a game between Weeks 7-10 to 4 targets a game between Weeks 12-15. What type of volume does Otton see on a fully healthy team? I expect it to be closer to the 4 targets a game than the 9 targets a game. He will sadly disappoint fantasy managers this season now that Chris Godwin is back on the team.
Let us know who YOU think is the biggest winner and loser over at The Fantasy Advice Network.
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