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.
Frank Ammirante’s Chris Godwin Fantasy Projection
Chris Godwin is coming off a dislocated ankle, which prematurely ended his terrific season, where he put up 50 catches for 576 yards and five touchdowns in only five games. It was looking like Godwin was heading for a career year prior to that injury.
The problem for this year is not only that Godwin’s Week 1 status is in doubt, but what’s he going to look like when he comes back? There’s a reasonable chance that it will take time — some are even saying October — for Godwin to get back to top form. After all, this is a player who is entering his age-29 season.
The good news is that the Buccaneers should still have a pass-heavy offense involved in several shootouts. The injury is also baked into Godwin’s price, as you can take him outside of the top-30 wideouts.Â
My main issue here is that I prefer to take a shot on first-round rookie Emeka Egbuka, who is turning heads in camp. If I want a discount WR coming off an injury, I tend to look towards Brandon Aiyuk, who is available later in drafts.
