Chris Godwin II
October 21st, 2020
Bucs WR Tyler Johnson.
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians Arians didn’t deny he may have been reminded of another receiver when he watched Tyler Johnson play for Minnesota in the Outback Bowl this past January.
That would be Chris Godwin.
Godwin, when he came out of Penn State in 2017, was known as a very physical runner who caught the ball well in traffic. In his final game for Penn State in the Rose Bowl, often going up against Adoreé Jackson (currently a starting corner with Tennessee), Godwin shined in the Granddaddy of Them All, a last-minute loss to USC where he put up 187 yards receiving.
While watching Johnson at the Den of Depression, Arians said he told his son who was with him at the Bowl game, “We’ve got to get that guy.”
Today Arians was asked if Johnson, who caught his first NFL touchdown pass last Sunday against the Packers, was a Godwin clone.
“That’s what we kind of saw on tape in college,” Arians said. “It was something that reminded us of guys we really like. [Johnson] was a very good run-after-catch guy and a very physical receiver. Yeah, that’s one of the things we liked about him a bunch.”
Johnson’s similarities to Godwin are spooky. Both are 6-1. Johnson weighs 206. Godwin weighs 209. But Godwin may be a hair quicker.
Godwin had a 40-yard dash of 4.42 leaving Penn State. Johnson, who did not run at the combine, had planned to run the 40 at his Pro Day but that was wiped out due to The Sickness.
Johnson’s receivers coach at Minnesota, Matt Simon, told Yahoo! Sports that Johnson “may never run a 4.3 or a 4.4″ but his speed was sneaky quick. That’s what folks said of Godwin entering the draft.
The Bucs will have tough decisions after the season as the salary cap for 2021 is expected to drop significantly.
With Godwin being in the final year of his contract, is Johnson looked at by the Bucs’ organization as insurance in case the Bucs and Godwin can’t reach a deal?
October 21st, 2020 at 1:59 pm
I hope the Bucs sign Lavonte and Chris long term.
October 21st, 2020 at 2:01 pm
Time to trade ME13 so we can have at least 2 first round draft picks to move up and grab our next QB?
October 21st, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Keep Godwin at all costs.
October 21st, 2020 at 2:11 pm
I thought we had our next QB on the practice squad.
October 21st, 2020 at 2:15 pm
why trade mike?
mike is home grown….a leader in the locker room and 1 of the main reasons why brady came to tampa…
he should be a buc for life…
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 21st, 2020 at 2:17 pm
i like this tyler johnson kid…i’d like him to get more time on the field with godwin and mike….i’d draw the #3 CB…advantage bucs imo….
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 21st, 2020 at 2:26 pm
Casual Observer Says:
October 21st, 2020 at 2:11 pm
I thought we had our next QB on the practice squad.
We had better activate Rosen before another team snaps him up from our PS……with QBs being injured….someone will take him as a backup.
As for Godwin……we need to sign him even if it means trading Evans (I hope not)…..but we would at least get something for Evans…..if we let Godwin walk, we get nothing and that would be criminal.
October 21st, 2020 at 2:33 pm
DoooshLaRue Says:
October 21st, 2020 at 2:01 pm
Time to trade ME13 so we can have at least 2 first round draft picks to move up and grab our next QB?
you dont trade a future hof’er in his prime who’s also a great leader, a team first guy, and a guy who needs to be doubled the entire game. we’ll let godwin walk before we give him up. there’s good qb’s availabl late 1st round. kyle trask comes to mind for example. i think we’ll sign godwin too, and let suh walk.
October 21st, 2020 at 2:36 pm
godwin can get paid without trading mike…
suh and gronk are on 1 year deals…d.smith and brate can get released or restructured and ….
how were the chiefs able to pay PM,TK,TH,CJ,Clark,honey badger……
we can get it done…
GO BUCS!!!!
October 21st, 2020 at 2:41 pm
Fans going all Bill O’Brien here. You don’t trade ME13
October 21st, 2020 at 2:42 pm
We’ll see how the season goes before deciding who to trade and not re-sign. Sincerely, Jason Licht
October 21st, 2020 at 2:52 pm
Tyler Hohnson has 3 catches and one of you nerds thinks that means its time to trade Mike?
October 21st, 2020 at 3:18 pm
A bit premature to be talking about who to trade & who to re-sign (as in 3-4 months premature). Money talks as we all know, but there’s a lot more to team rosters than ‘just money’ IMO. In some ways decisions on who to keep & who to let go get harder & harder the more successful you are, but in other ways they also get easier (lots of guys signed with the Pats for peanuts over the years for a chance at a SB ring).
And having a guy like Tom Brady here surely hasn’t hurt us (nor did it hurt the Pats). Ask yourself why Leonard Fournette signed here for $2.5 mil instead of someplace else for a lot more $$$. Same thing with Gronk & several others. Bucs are building something that has the potential to ‘win now’, but also has a LOT of young talent that bodes well for the future.
October 21st, 2020 at 3:25 pm
Lol it’s week 7. Let’s not think about bad things yet.
October 21st, 2020 at 3:42 pm
Joe, I thought we’re giving up Den of Depression! Come on, let’s lose the losing mentality!
October 21st, 2020 at 4:01 pm
No way we let Godwin walk. That would be a really dumb move. As evidenced last year when we lost both Evans and Godwin for the last couple of games, it’s good to have reliable backup players (e.g., Perriman), especially if you’re making a run for the playoffs.
October 21st, 2020 at 4:24 pm
If Bucs have a successful playoff run, I think many players will sign cap friendly 1 year deals – the magic of Brady
October 21st, 2020 at 4:49 pm
Johnson dropped it a lot more than Godwin… I was worried about him getting separation at this level but he’s done a good job so far I’ve been impressed
October 21st, 2020 at 5:52 pm
Tyler Johnson dropped to the 5th round because he wouldn’t run the 40, because it is believed he wouldn’t break a 4.7… he’s more than a bit slower than Godwin, at least on the stopwatch.
Of course there’s a huge difference between a stopwatch 40 and an in pads 40, and Johnson has been able to get open against depth guys, which is good. No way he should be compared to anyone yet, he’s only a few games into his career. Good or bad it’s way too early to know what we have yet.
October 21st, 2020 at 6:32 pm
I am certainly not advocating a trade of Evans……only if we have to choose between the two……Godwin will be a FA…..Evans is tradeable….I doubt it comes to that…..but if we have to choose…….Mike & nothing….or Godwin & a 1st round draft pick or more….I’d choose Godwin.
October 21st, 2020 at 9:09 pm
Our salary cap is going to get cut big time but so are the other 32 teams. Salaries are going to have to come down. Platers who refuse will find out the others teams have no money either.
October 22nd, 2020 at 5:23 am
The website I looked at has Tyler Johnson’s 40 times as:
40 Low: 4.42 (which is what Godwin ran)
40 Time: 4.52
40 High: 4.62
Usually a website will have “Est” by times if they’re estimating it. I like what I’ve seen of this kid, but I LOVE what I’ve seen from Godwin and Mike Evans.
October 22nd, 2020 at 6:05 am
Who says ME13 is a great leader
Look I like him but he gets lots of penalties over his career and is not disciplined
If we get a 1st rd for him that would be good
That 17mil is gonna be hard to swallow
October 22nd, 2020 at 7:09 am
wouldn’t it be crazy if thy trade away me13 in the off season at basically the peak of his game…
free up cap room and sign another receiver and godwin, and if tyler johnson is the real deal…whoa…
that would be wild if me13 is playing for say the texans next year…
just a what if…
not saying it’s happening and don’t want it to happen…
(to my haters – so don’t get crazy)…
don’t hate on me, wait for ndog to take off his knee pads and return to get his daily bitch slapperoonies
October 22nd, 2020 at 7:59 am
GO Bucs GO
October 22nd, 2020 at 8:14 am
They should let godwin walk. This is what the best teams do. If you can replace him with a fifth round pick it shows the front office is finally getting it done. With the contract godwin will sign elsewhere we’ll probably get a 2nd or 3rd compensatory pick.
October 22nd, 2020 at 8:44 am
They need to get Lavante David and Chris Godwin under long-term contracts. The problem is, because of Covid and no fans and all this nonsense, the salary cap is going down next year