There are many changes coming to the Bucs offense this year with new offensive coordinator Dave Canales. While there’s going to be an important focus on the run game, the player who may benefit the most when the Bucs throw the ball is wide receiver Chris Godwin.

This is a very exciting season coming up for Godwin, who will be entering the second year following a return from his torn ACL injury. It’s the season after where a player who suffered that injury really bounces back and feels like themselves. But even as he dipped his toe back into the NFL waters last year, he recorded 104 catches, 1,023 yards, and three touchdowns in 14 games.

Add in the six receptions he made in the Bucs’ lone postseason game and Godwin recorded the most receptions for a single season in franchise history.

Not too bad.

Godwin Will Be Used Differently, But Better

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

What he did last season is more than respectable. Some of those receptions might be misconstrued, though, as the Bucs force feeding him the ball on screen plays where there were no blockers in front and Godwin had to run through a group of defenders each time to fight for a yard. There wasn’t really a rhyme or reason to some of the play designs and it played a factor in Godwin missing three games early on.

But that’s going to change for Godwin this season. Why? He’s moving back to the outside. Godwin primarily played in the slot last year for the Bucs, and while he’ll still get snaps there this season, he will get plenty more on the outside to fully utilize his skillset.

Godwin played 453 snaps (72.9%) in the slot compared to 166 (26.7%) on the outside. That is a wide disparity between the two spots. Talking to wide receivers coach Brad Idzik, he views Godwin as a player who can still win his one-on-one battles, which will put him in great situations in this new offense.

“You’ll see a little bit of everything,” Idzik said of where the Bucs will play Godwin.  “And I know that sounds like coach speak, right? ‘Oh, I don’t want to give away our trade secrets.’ Chris [has shown] early on that he can stretch the field and that’s what I want to remind him of. He can stretch the field. I know he is coming off of the knee injury from last year, but he has already shown it out there. When you put him outside, this guy is a problem one-on-one. The thing that he brings in the slot, for me, that is a benefit to Chris and those are things that he naturally does. That just opens his window up.”

Idzik Has Plans For Godwin And Evans

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. – Photo by: USA Today

Idzik talked about formulating a similar plan to what he had coaching Seahawks wide receivers with D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. He goes from coaching them to a combination of two of the best receivers in the game today with Godwin and Mike Evans.

There were times when it was difficult for any Bucs receiver to create separation and get open. That won’t be the case this season given the talent that both of these players have.

“We talked about coming from a room in Seattle where with D.K. [Metcalf], we continued to develop his slot work from being an outside receiver,” Idzik said. “Chris has already shown that, and he already has experience with that, so we can use him in a lot of different ways right off the bat. But yeah, I don’t think we’re going to lose some of that outside stuff too when you just say, ‘Hey Chris, go win one-on-one, or hey Mike, go win one-on-one outside.’”