Godwin certainly had proven his case to receive a bigger role in the upcoming season and Bucs GM Jason Licht outright stated this during the offseason.
During the 2017 season, Godwin held onto 34 receptions for 525 yards and one for a TD, only dropping 2 passes on 55 total targets. He was targeted, also, 8 times in the Red Zone and 6 times in the End Zone. In the final 5 game stretch, he saw 18 receptions for 319 yards, plus a game-winning TD. So, it definitely seems that more equals better for the young man out of Penn State.
Compare those last 5 games and overall season numbers with WR’s DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries:
Humph had 22 receptions for 254 yards, 1 TD in the last 5 games, and 61 receptions for 631 yards and that 1 TD all season, only dropping the ball 5 times out of 83 targets. Humph was also targeted 7 times in the Red Zone and once in the End Zone, all season long. While the veteran DeSean Jackson saw 90 targets on the season, catching 50 of them for 668 yards, dropping only 3 passes, and touching the End Zone 3 times. However, in the final 5 game stretch, Jackson had only 7 receptions for 76 yards and no TDs. But in his defense, missing the last two games of the season did help contribute to those numbers or lack thereof.
(Just throwing it out there that Mike Evans, in the last 5 game stretch, saw 20 receptions for 299 yards and only 1 TD, himself. But, Godwin isn’t likely to see Mike Evan’s spot anytime soon.)
So the short and skinny is this: There is no question in anyone’s mind that Chris Godwin has earned his right to a bigger role, and that stat wise, his performance is definitely on par with some of the more established counterparts on the team. With Monken taking on the role as full-time OC and with the mention he received from the team’s GM Jason Licht, in all likelihood, we will see much more of Godwin in 2018, and likely at the expense of veteran receiver Adam Humphries.
Needless to say, Humphries has been a tremendous asset to the team, but if Godwin is playing better and climbing up the ladder, Humph is first on the list to get the bump. Not Saying that Godwin is going to take Humph’s job outright, but you had better believe there will be a split in snaps with him and even possibly DeSean Jackson, this season. However, one cannot discount the possibility that Godwin could, in fact, be number 3 at the start of this year.