It would be easy to say, and probably accurate as well, that Liam Coen, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first-year offensive coordinator, has unlocked the best version of Chris Godwin. By moving him around the formation, giving him a heavier dose of routes of the slot and getting him more looks in the red zone, Coen has helped Godwin get off to the best start of his career.
Through three games, Godwin is ranked seventh in the NFL with 253 receiving yards, is tied for third with 21 receptions and is tied for first with three touchdown catches. Those numbers across a full 17-game season would project to 119 catches for 1,434 yards and 17 touchdowns, all of which would easily surpass his career single-season highs.
But even Coen may not have expected to see this much from Godwin this soon. He had a healthy respect for what he was inheriting in Godwin and his running mate, Mike Evans, and he had obviously studied him closely on tape, but he has since learned a little more about what Godwin is capable of doing.
"I've always known and heard of Chris and the respect [he receives] – the competitor, the toughness, the way he plays the game," said Coen. "I don't think I thought he was that sudden as he was. Some of the little subtleties of route-running. His ability to double people up at times and create separation. I don't know if a lot of people would say he's an ultra-fast guy, but within his role and in short spaces, he knows how to get open. He knows how to create space, he knows how to attack leverage."
Godwin has always excelled at taking quick, short passes and turning them into chunk plays, but this year he has emerged as Baker Mayfield's favorite target on third downs when a specific number of yards are needed…think a six-yard out on third-and-five, which needs to be run and thrown precisely because the coverage will be tight. Godwin leads all NFL players with 17 receptions for first downs – or 81% of all total catches – and seven of those have come on third downs. That is also tied with the Giants' Malik Nabers for the most in the league this season.
"I think I probably underestimated maybe some of the nuances of just being able to get open and the quick-twitch that he does show and display at times," said Coen. "And I think he's just feeling a lot better this year. I think he's healthier, he's feeling better, he's feeling more balanced, and all the other stuff has proven to be true, everything else I'd heard about him."
Coen said he first started to get an understanding of how sudden and explosive Godwin could be just a few minutes into the first training camp practice. Some offseason practices are run at full speed, but it tends to jump up a notch when camp begins, and Godwin caught Coen's eye while running a "sail" route (an outside vertical route).
"That was something where [I thought], 'Oh shoot, he had a burst there,'" said Coen. "And then you look at some of the screens that he's been successful on this season so far. You go to the Washington game, the one that got called back on Trey [Palmer]'s penalty, and then the one that he catches for the third-and-XL that he converted on, I guess I hadn't seen that quite yet. I hadn't seen a guy catch the ball at the line of scrimmage, essentially, and pierce the defense. And people not really being able to tackle him [with] arm tackles – he's stronger than you think. He's had a lot of production for us so far on screens. Really, the one on Sunday could've almost gotten out, the one we had on left side. He's just really playing at a high level right now and I'm really proud of him."
