Chris Godwin recently re-signed with the city he has made home, coming to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signing a three-year, $66 million, fully guaranteed deal.
It comes as no surprise that the Bucs would take care of their own as they have done so with so many including Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr., but there could have been a scenario in which Godwin walked in free agency due to other teams offering a drastic increase in pay outside of what Tampa Bay was willing to give.
Fortunately for the Buccaneers and their fans, things didn’t make it to that level, and Godwin will be returning to partner alongside his running mate of the past eight years in Mike Evans.
With Godwin now under contract and the rest of the league’s rosters mostly set, the big question around the NFL became which team has the best wide receiver unit after both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins signed lucrative extensions with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In a recent article published by Bleacher Report, their team took a crack at ranking the top wideout units from around the league, and unquestionably, they had the Buccaneers’ wide receivers as the third-overall wide receiver unit in the league, just behind the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin celebrates his touchdown with teammate wide receiver Mike Evans. / Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images
Out of the three teams at the top, the Buccaneers are likely the only ones that can be looked at as having three solidified guys who can change the game at any moment with Godwin, Evans and McMillan running things. However, it is easy to see why the Bengals and Vikings are above the Bucs as Chase, along with Justin Jefferson — both former LSU Tigers — are the top two wide receivers across the entire NFL with above-average, nearly WR1 sidekicks in Higgins and Jordan Addison respectively.
While the Buccaneers’ trio of wide receivers is absolutely one of the best in terms of production, they also stand out amongst the rest due to Evans and Godwin’s longevity. Evans just cashed in his 11th straight 1,000-receiving-yard season to tie a record held by the legendary Jerry Rice, while Godwin has become synonymous with getting open and making the big play when it is needed most, especially on third downs.
Oh, and let’s not forget the obvious differentiator in all this — Super Bowl rings.
Tampa Bay is the only team out of those top three units to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, so the case could be made for them to have the top spot with the Philadelphia Eagles on their heels with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
The Buccaneers tend not to get the most love due to being in a smaller market and the character and poise their wide receivers show rather than the flashy, primadonna wideouts that have taken the league by storm. However, they go about their business and get the job done.
Godwin will look to bounce back from a season-ending injury last season to try and replicate his first half of the season splits. Meanwhile, Evans hunts down Jerry Rice’s record and McMillan looks to build off his fantastic finish to his rookie season where he had seven touchdowns over the team’s final five games of the regular season.
While many can argue this one way or another, one person who is happy and will claim that his unit is the best in the league is quarterback Baker Mayfield.
