Chris Godwin Names Smartest Receiver He Ever Played With
September 3rd, 2026
It’s Year 10 for iconic Bucs receiver Chris Godwin, so he’s played with a lot of guys at wide receiver, from Vincent Jackson to DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans, to Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and more.
So who was the smartest player to patrol the Bucs receivers rooms?
Godwin went there without being asked during his sitdown with the Green Light podcast. (Joe listened on SiriusXM NFL Radio.)
Emeka Egbuka, you win the grand prize.
“It’s almost like looking at like what I was like as a young guy, but like his mental capacity is so much like further than what mine was at that point [in my career],” Godwin said of the second-year Bucs receiver.
“I would say he’s the smartest receiver that I’ve been around. Like he understands football from like just the overall perspective. Like, he looks at it through almost like a quarterback’s lens.
“It’s like having an understanding of where to sit in zones, but also understanding what coverages they’re like defenses are in, like what tells there are — who’s supposed to be guarding or covering [specific] areas and zones, like all of those kind of things. I think he even understands some D-line plays in fronts and stuff.”
Impressive stuff. Now Egbuka just needs to get his sprained foot right before opening day, preferably 100 percent.
September 3rd, 2026 at 2:57 pm
Godwin didn’t play with Vincent Jackson, he got drafted the year(2017) after VJax last few games as a Buc(2016).
September 3rd, 2026 at 2:58 pm
Now we have the reason Mike left
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:08 pm
Amazing accolades!
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:10 pm
Good luck to you both Mr. Godwin….please stay healthy.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:11 pm
Seeing is believing.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:15 pm
Honestly it’s the Brian Hartline effect. Ex Payton Manning receiver, current Ohio State WR coach. Turns out the most pro ready WR every draft. An Ohio state WR is the safest pick every year.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:19 pm
Godwin got paid $20 Million to rehab an injury in 2025, so he might be the smartest player on the team and Licht might be one of the dumbest GM’s in the league for that contract
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:20 pm
Brian Hartline is the coach at USF, he left Ohio for Florida, like most people from Ohio do
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:26 pm
I guess EE must have had a brain infection the 2nd half of last season.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:27 pm
Egbuka is great at getting open. Now, he just needs to get his mind right and catch the football more consistently and he can be great.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:32 pm
Not just the compliment, but who it’s from = meaningful
Emeka is a unique cat, the Technical Ted of route runners and def highly intelligent….
If only he was a physical specimen too (he’s not and you need only to rewatch the Bucs “short” video they posted last season of Tez & Emeka in the locker room talking about baby names for Baker’s new son that was gonna be due, to know this, and I mean no disrespect by it), he’d be a 1 of 1 type receiver!
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:35 pm
Hmm, not Antonio Brown? We are all surprised!
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:40 pm
AquaBum Says:
September 3rd, 2026 at 2:58 pm
Now we have the reason Mike left
————————
Some of us knew the reason from the jump. It was/is pretty obvious in spite of the joes and the trolls trying to blame Todd or Baker.
Doesn’t really matter why tho… He’s gone and we should be better because of it. I’ve personally always like Chris better anyway.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:54 pm
Zing! from Hunter. Well done.
September 3rd, 2026 at 3:54 pm
If EE and Hurst develop into blue chippers and we got a game wrecker up on the dline, health and development at corner and more depth on the oline this team would be ready to seriously contend from a roster stand point.
Still need a coach and staff tho.
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:01 pm
@ Fire The Cannons & Fire Todd : You managed to have the best and worst comment, back to back on this thread. (you figure out which is which)
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:12 pm
Never trust a man that says “like” 15 times in a few sentences.
What are you a valley girl???
STFU
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:22 pm
My young daughter said “like” all the time until I pointed it out and paused the conversation each time she said it. She recognized and work at it until she resolved it.
I would “like” to hear Chris put that down – it does him no favors.
Great receiver and person!
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:44 pm
Wouldn’t it be cool to think that CG was giving him a coaching message in the media also? Watch the tape.
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:46 pm
You STFU troll.