Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris Godwin Jr. Doing the "Dirty Work" in Bucs' Run-Heavy Offense

Chris Godwin Jr. has long had a reputation as one of the league's best run-blocking receivers, and that ability, plus the desire to use it, was on full display in the Bucs' run-heavy game at Carolina in Week Seven

Oct 29, 2026 at 03:36 PM

Senior Writer/Editor

Chris Godwin Jr., now in his 10th year in the NFL and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has had some good seasons catching the football and some others that were great, such as his 2019 Pro Bowl campaign when he snared 86 passes for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns. Mike Evans is the only player who has caught more passes for more yards and touchdowns than Godwin in franchise history, and the gap between Godwin and third place is substantial.

Godwin's numbers through the first seven games of this season are not in line with those other seasons, at least not yet. He has 27 catches for 243 yards and has yet to top 50 yards in a game this season. It's not hard to see why. After their 64-yard passing output in a lopsided win over Carolina last Sunday, the Buccaneers' passing attack as a whole dropped to last in the league in yardage. Tampa Bay's offense, which just five short years ago averaged a league-leading 307.6 passing yards per game, does not yet have an outing with even 200 yards this season. The numbers are just not there at the moment for anyone whose primary job it is to catch the football.

But there is a lot more to playing wide receiver in the NFL, and Godwin knows it as well as anyone. If you're offense is built around running the ball and consistently getting your running backs going for six, seven or eight yards on first down, you are going to be called upon to block quite a bit in order to get those second-level finishes. And Godwin, who has a very well-earned reputation as one of the NFL's best blocking receivers, is very eagerly leaning into that task this season.

That was on full display in the 43-13 win over Carolina in which the Bucs ran for 258 yards and only threw the ball 11 times. After the game, coaches and teammates were expressing intense gratitude for how seriously Godwin took his blocking assignments and how well he executed them.

"I think him and Ted [Hurst III] both did an outstanding job blocking and sustaining blocks," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "So, when we say the O-line did a heck of a job, we're talking about the tight ends and [wide] receivers, too. You don't get to the second level without the [wide] receivers blocking, and I thought they did a heck of a job getting Bucky [Irving] and [Kenny] Gainwell to the second level."

In addition to being willing and physically capable of the job, Godwin helps the team on the blocking front with his recognition and sheer experience. Quarterback Baker Mayfield described a play in particular agains the Panthers that only worked because of an on-the-fly adjustment by Godwin.

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TAMPA, FL - October 28, 2026 - Outside Linebacker Yasir Holmes #57 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during practice at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Tori Richman/Tampa Bay Buccaneers