In a weekly column every Thursday on PewterReport.com, two Pewter Reporters will debate a topic with opposing viewpoints. Which Pewter Reporter wins the debate? You get to decide in the comments section below.

This week’s topic: Who Should Zac Robinson Build Bucs Offense Around?

Point: Zac Robinson Needs To Feature Mike Evans, Of Course

By Scott Reynolds

This answer is pretty easy. Who is the best offensive weapon the Bucs have? He’s the same best weapon that Tampa Bay’s offense has ever had – wide receiver Mike Evans. The only problem is that Evans is an unrestricted free agent entering the 2026 season, which would be his 13th season in red and pewter if he were to return on a new contract. I think Evans wants to play this year because he doesn’t want his illustrious career to end with last year’s injury-riddled season. I don’t think Evans – an alpha competitor – wants to go out like that.

New Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has the opportunity to help convince Evans to return to Tampa Bay this year – and he might need some convincing (more on that in Friday’s SR’s FAB 5 column on PewterReport.com). Evans was not thrilled with how he was used – or not used – by last year’s offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Evans had just 14 catches for 140 yards and one touchdown through the first three games of the 2025 season before a hamstring injury cost him a few games. Upon returning to action in Detroit in Week 7, Evans suffered a broken collarbone and a concussion that kept him out until the team’s Week 15 loss to Atlanta. In his first game back, Evans was targeted 12 times and caught six passes for 132 yards in the 29-28 loss to the Falcons. In the last three games of the year, Evans had a combined 10 catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns, including just two receptions for 34 yards in the season finale win versus Carolina.

If Evans is going to return for another season at age 33 he’s going to want to be featured. And why wouldn’t he? He’s still – right now – the best wide receiver on the Bucs roster. And why wouldn’t Robinson want to feature a future Hall of Famer? There has been speculation that Robinson’s offense will be more akin to the Rams-based system that former Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen ran in 2024.

But Coen’s offense ran through slot receiver Chris Godwin Jr., who led the team with 50 catches for 576 yards and five touchdowns before he suffered a devastating ankle injury that ended his season in Week 7 that year. Evans only had 26 catches for 335 yards and five touchdowns through Week 7 – nearly half of Godwin’s production.

If I’m Robinson and I get the chance to have Evans back for another year or two, I’m going to use the Canton-bound receiver when I can. I’m going to tell Evans that he is going to be featured like he featured Drake London, a similarly sized 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver, was featured in Atlanta. London had his best season under Robinson in 2024 with 100 catches for 1,279 yards (12.7 avg.) and nine touchdowns. And he was on his way to having an even better year in 2025 with 68 receptions for 919 yards (13.5) and seven touchdowns before missing the last five games of the season with a knee injury. That’s my sales pitch to Evans.

This offense has a lot of weapons for Baker Mayfield – the team’s $100 million quarterback – to work with. But Evans is still the best one and deserved to be featured if he indeed returns for another season or two in Tampa Bay. He’s still the best weapon in the Bucs’ arsenal. In the past he’s be fine sharing the ball with Godwin. But in the twilight of Evans’ career, it’s time to use him even more while he’s still in his prime.

Point: Zac Robinson’s Offense Should Feature Chris Godwin Jr. As The Engine

By Bailey Adams

Scott actually made part of one of my points for me. Thinking back to all of the success that the Bucs offense had under Liam Coen in 2024, when was that unit truly at its best? It was early on in the season when Coen and quarterback Baker Mayfield had a full crop of weapons to work with. When that was the case, it was Chris Godwin Jr. serving as the engine that drove the offense. As Scott said, everything ran through Godwin, who led the team with 50 catches on 62 targets for 576 yards (11.5 avg.) and five touchdowns before that season-ending ankle injury in Week 7.

If Zac Robinson is going to get this offense back to where Coen had it, or if he’s even going to get it close, I’m thinking Godwin is going to have to be right there at the center of it. He’s the chain-mover Mayfield needs at his disposal, especially on third downs. How many “Third and Godwins” have we seen over the years? That’s when he is at his best, plus his ability to work in the short and intermediate game can open up opportunities down the field for Tampa Bay’s other weapons.

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

So, while I’m saying the offense should run through Godwin, don’t get it twisted: re-signing Mike Evans is an absolute must if the Bucs offense is going to reach the heights it soared to in 2024, as well as in 2019, 2020 and 2021 before that. Because while No. 14’s 2024 numbers extrapolated over a full season that year would’ve made for a gaudy stat line of 121 catches for 1,398 yards and 12 touchdowns. There’s no guarantee those are the numbers that he would’ve hit without that ankle injury, but the pace he was on before the ankle injury? Yes, sign me up for building an offense around that guy.

With Robinson’s system being closer to the one Coen ran in Tampa Bay, it’s easy to see a similar role for Godwin going forward. And that’s a role that sees him drive the offense while opening holes in coverage for Evans, Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka to take advantage of.

Now, yes, I understand the injury history that Godwin has and there is naturally going to be some concern about the fact that he turns 30 this February. But remember how he recovered from that season-ending knee injury he suffered in 2021? He came back in 2022 and was good, even posting a 1,000-yard season. But he wasn’t truly himself until 2023. It’s not a lock to work the same way with the ankle, but after a get-right season in 2025, I think he’ll be closer to the Chris Godwin Jr. of old in 2026, two seasons removed from that major injury.

I also mentioned 2019, 2020 and 2021 earlier on because those years and 2024 are the last four times the Bucs offense has finished top five in scoring. And in each of those years, Godwin was the chain-mover who oftentimes kept things going as his quarterback’s safety blanket. His career year in 2019 saw him go for 1,333 yards and total 63 first downs. He was limited to 12 games in 2020, but he still went for 840 yards and 43 first downs. Then, before his 2021 season was cut short, he was headed for another career year with 98 catches for 1,103 yards and 55 first downs before a mid-December injury.

It’s been something of a simple formula. Feature Chris Godwin Jr. and both he and the other receivers win. And because of that, so do the Bucs. Zac Robinson should take notes and act accordingly.