Wide receiver Chris Godwin was shaping up to be one of the best values in fantasy football last season. Then, he broke his ankle. This is the second time the start of Godwin’s season is in jeopardy due to a serious knee/ankle injury. Should fantasy managers take the injury discount on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR2 in 2025 fantasy drafts?
Should You Draft Chris Godwin in Fantasy?
Three years ago, Godwin was tracking to miss the season’s first month recovering from a torn ACL. He wound up making it back for Week 1, but strained his hamstring in what was likely a compensation injury. Godwin returned in Week 4, but didn’t get going until the second half of the season when he finally started to resemble his pre-injury self.
Once again, Godwin finds himself returning from a significant lower leg injury, this time a broken ankle. By all accounts, he should be ready to go when the season begins, but the risk of a slow start is real.
This is one of the many factors that make Godwin a difficult player to evaluate.
Aside from the injury concerns, or perhaps in addition to it, we have Godwin’s age. Twenty-nine is not necessarily old, but returning from a serious injury at 29 is more difficult than at 26.
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We also have the matter of Jalen McMillan’s breakout over the final five weeks of last season and the Bucs drafting Emeka Egbuka in the first round. If Godwin can’t get back to his pre-injury self and Egbuka shines, Godwin may not return to the same role.
With all that said, Godwin presents a tremendous value opportunity this season. His ADP is WR32, a hefty discount due to his injury and Egbuka.
As a reminder, Godwin was tearing it up before he got hurt last season. In seven games, Godwin was averaging 19.7Â fantasy points per game, on pace for the best season of his career. He earned a 26.6% target share and averaged 2.35 yards per route run.
A big reason for Godwin’s massive improvement over the previous year, when he averaged 12.3 PPG, his lowest average since 2018, was his increased slot usage. In 2023, Godwin spent 32.1% of his time in the slot. In 2024, that shot up to 57.8%. This year, Godwin expects to continue predominantly operating out of the slot.
Chris Godwin expects to play primarily from the slot in 2025.
His slot/wide splits per @FantasyPtsData over the last two seasons:
Slot: 2.58 YPRR (~WR6), 0.58 FP/RR (~WR7)
Wide: 1.78 YPRR (~WR46), 0.36 FP/RR (~WR51)Godwin’s 16.1 Underdog FPG was 2nd-best among WRs last year. pic.twitter.com/xxG45wGPj9
— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) June 9, 2025
Baker Mayfield is playing like the guy the Browns thought they were getting when they selected him No. 1 overall in 2018. The Bucs also project to have a bad defense. They play in a division with multiple teams in domes and have a lot of potential shootouts on their schedule.
Injuries are going to happen. All of our fantasy teams will lose players, making it challenging to push the button on a player who is already hurt.
However, Godwin’s price is not prohibitively expensive. I have him ranked as my WR45, well below his WR35 ADP. However, with positive news about his recovery, both will rise over the month of August. But he’s still not practicing and has no timetable for a return as of the first week of August, making him very difficult to endorse.
Dan Fornek’s Chris Godwin Fantasy Projection
A dislocated ankle robbed us of what could have been an all-time season from Chris Godwin in Liam Coen’s offense. From Weeks 1 to 7, Chris Godwin was tied for fourth in targets (61), first in receptions (50), second in receiving yards (576) and tied for third in receiving touchdowns (5). Godwin was the WR4 in fantasy points per game (19.7) among receivers with at least three games played.
Unfortunately, his dislocated ankle will also impact his 2025 season. Godwin hasn’t practiced yet this summer, and recent news reports suggest that he had a second surgery in the spring to further heal the injury. Reports from training camp suggest that the Buccaneers don’t expect him to play early in the season but expect to see him in 2025.
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Tampa Bay can be patient in bringing Godwin back into the fold with Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan returning in 2025 and the addition of 2025 first-round pick Emeka Egbuka to the passing attack. Egbuka has been stellar in his first training camp and has taken advantage of every opportunity with the first-team offense.
We have seen players return from significant ankle injuries and take time getting back to full strength. It seems like Godwin is sure to miss at least Week 1 and is coming off a dislocated ankle that has required two surgeries to repair. Maybe he returns to form by the end of the season, but that is a long time to wait for production in your fantasy lineup.
