Raiders must be aggressive if Chris Godwin is done with Bucs

Raiders would be getting a proven veteran and leader.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers truly missed Godwin following their recent defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. Godwin is a leader, but more importantly, he’s a winner, and that’s something that the Raiders need more of. A Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowler in his own right, Godwin has had four 800-yard-plus seasons in his five-year NFL career.

His 2021 campaign was cut short after he suffered a devastating knee injury against the New Orleans Saints back in December. Even so, Godwin had eclipsed 1,000 yards and had amassed five touchdowns. Godwin was instrumental in moving the chains for the Bucs over the last two seasons, totaling 98 first-down catches.

Nevertheless, Godwin has been more than just a possession receiver. He, too, made big plays and stretched the field in Tampa Bay. He’s also hard to bring down and makes the most of every catch, accumulating 866 yards after a catch in the last two years. In addition, Godwin has seven broken tackles to his name in that same stretch.

The Raiders could use Godwin to stretch defenses by putting him in the seams. With the Bucs this past season, Godwin was targeted 67 times in that slot. Of those pass attempts, 52 of them were caught, going for 519 yards and two touchdowns, per Next Gen Stats.

In his career with the Bucs, Godwin has consistently proven his versatility, and that’s something the Raiders could exploit. Since 2019, Godwin has gained at least 150 yards on nine different routes. Now that’s impressive. We’re talking about the post, out, screen, hitch, cross, go, slant, in, and corner routes as pointed out by NGS. Surely, Raider Nation would welcome such an addition.