Chris Godwin is coming off the worst full season of his career at an age where that usually signals the end. The injury history behind it is long enough to make anyone wonder if his body is simply done. Mike Evans is gone now, though, and there is a new offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay. Fantasy managers have to decide whether that is enough to bet on a 30-year-old receiver.
Should I Draft Chris Godwin Jr. in Fantasy Football?
Godwin is probably the toughest player on my board to evaluate.
Start with the bad, because there is plenty of it. He is entering his age-30 season coming off the worst campaign of his career outside of his rookie year. Godwin averaged 9.2 fantasy points per game on a career-worst 1.42 yards per route run and 7.1 yards per target. His 18.3% target share and 20% target per-route-run rate were equally uninspiring. Pick whichever metric you like. It was bad.
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Availability is its own problem. Godwin has played a total of 16 games over the past two seasons combined. He is also now the old man in a receiver room where everyone else is under 25.
But the situation around him has been rebuilt almost entirely. Mike Evans is gone, which vacates an enormous share of the targets. Josh Grizzard is out as offensive coordinator, replaced by Zac Robinson, who comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree and actually knows what he is doing. Baker Mayfield was a mess last season and played through multiple injuries, as Netflix’s “Quarterback” confirmed.
Everything about Tampa Bay fell apart in 2025. Godwin was hurt himself on top of all of it. There is a real chance he is simply healthier this year, and the target competition now amounts to him and Emeka Egbuka.
Then again, maybe the injuries have finally caught up with him. Godwin has dealt with a torn ACL and MCL, several hamstring strains, a dislocated ankle, and a cracked fibula over the course of his career. That is an extraordinary amount of damage for one body to absorb. What if it is breaking down and he simply cannot do it anymore?
That is the honest question, and I do not have a confident answer.
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What I do know is that the price to find out is cheap. Godwin is my WR34 against a WR40 ADP, and at that cost, the range of outcomes works in your favor. He could finish as the WR20 just as easily as you could be dropping him by Week 6.
Those are the bets worth making late in drafts.
Katz’s WR Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- Drake London | ATL
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Chris Olave | NO
- George Pickens | DAL
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Mike Evans | SF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Josh Downs | IND
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Jayden Reed | GB
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Xavier Worthy | KC
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- KC Concepcion | CLE
- Romeo Doubs | NE
- Jalen Coker | CAR
