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READ OPTION: THE RISK OF A SLOT MACHINE
Here’s an interesting Read-Option for you all this week, one that you can get as creative with as your imagination sees fit.
In the six-game sample Harmon had of Godwin, he never lined up in the slot. But, that didn’t mean there weren’t times where Godwin was closer to the line of scrimmage in a bunch formation. Knowing that he has the natural ability to play both sides of the field with a good success rate in a variety of routes, how would you feel about Chris Godwin playing much more of a slot role in the NFL?
Bucs WR DeSean Jackson – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the luxury of getting pretty creative with their offensive weapons this season. They could choose to use DeSean Jackson as a slot player if they want. They can do the same thing with O.J. Howard. How about throwing Godwin in that mix?
Godwin had a high success rate when separating from defenders on short routes like slant and drag routes, ones that you see quite often from slot players. It would also put him in the middle of the field more often, a place where he thrived.
However, it would also limit the amount of space he would have, and though we’ve seen him do well through traffic, we’ve also seen him do well when winning near the sideline, something that is tougher to do for some receivers. Moving Godwin to a part-time or even full-time slot role would also cause the team to likely think of Adam Humphries as replaceable for a different kind of receiver. Would that chain reaction be okay with you? Or do you not see it necessary and think the Bucs are better with Godwin outside rotating with Jackson and Evans and keeping Humphries in the slot?
As training camp gets underway in late July and we get a better idea of which wide receivers this team might keep, I’ll probably be asking this question again in greater detail. But, right now, does this team have enough receiver potential in the slot to keep Godwin on the outside, or would you like to see his separation be used there more than it was in college?
