The world of the NFL draft can be a tricky one. It requires one to not only judge talent, personality, and character, accurately but to also determine if said player fits into the offense/defense scheme the team is running. That is, given that the player checks off the previous three boxes. Even though it may seem fairly straightforward at first, it gets very complex, fast when you are grading a pool of roughly 3,500 players. As the GM you have 7 picks, on average, to make the best possible selection to fill your team’s most critical needs. Out of 3,500, you will only select .2% of the given talent, and none of which guarantees you that they will be successful. In fact, according to FiveThirtyEight, only 25% of all 1st rounder’s will ever make it on an All-Pro team. Players that are drafted 2nd rounder or later that number drops to less than 5%. Another analysis shows that if you draft a player in the 4th round or later their average projected career is less than 5 years.
Clearly, the evidence shows, that overall, the earlier drafted talent will more than likely give the team a better rate of return. When you consider all of this, Tampa Bay’s rookie wide receiver, Chris Godwin, the first year shows you he is well on his way to give a high rate of return for the Buccaneers.
Godwin, who was drafted in the 3rd round, 84th overall, is ranked as the 6th best rookie wide receiver in 2017 with a stat line of 525 yards / 1 TD / 34 receptions. What is impressive is that Godwin is only outranked by 5 other rookie WR’s that were drafted in earlier rounds almost all of which who were on playoff teams this year. Even more impressive is that Godwin’s stat line is on pace with Mike Evans and is averaging almost 1 yard more per reception than Evans.
In a season where the expectations were high and the results were sub-standard, Godwin has stood out as a bright spot and has shown the potential to be the #2 option behind Mike Evans. If given the opportunity by Koetter and Co. Godwin will only continue to develop into a solid NFL receiver.
