The Chris Godwin hype is starting early for the Buccaneers

OTAs have been pretty quiet for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—nothing groundbreaking, no big injuries, no massive disappointments. Other than Roberto Aguayo, maybe.

So forgive me for indulging in a bit of premature fanboying: Chris Godwin has looked really, really good by all accounts. Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders called him “one of the real standouts”, Pewter Report gushed about him in their daily practice recaps, and even Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter got in on the hype.

“Yeah, Chris is off to a fast start,” Koetter said. “Chris and O.J. [Howard] are both doing fine. O.J. has showed up probably a little bit more as a blocker than a receiver the first couple days. But Chris is – a couple small mental blips but the physical stuff is there, for sure.”

Plus, there’s this video.

This is exactly what we saw of him in college: acrobatic catches. The Bucs’ third-round pick is not the fastest receiver, but he’s physical, makes contested catches, and is a solid route-runner. A great combination for an early impact, though perhaps his ceiling is a bit limited.

Of course, the usual caveats apply: it’s early days, OTAs have no pads and it’s easy to stand out when there’s no contact, especially as a receiver, and we’ve seen player after player stand out in the offseason and fail in the regular season.

Those caveats aside, though, Godwin does have room to make an impact this year. Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson are the obvious starting receivers, but he can take some snaps away from Adam Humphries in the slot--especially because Evans and Jackson can both play in the slot on specific plays, too, creating room for Godwin on the outside.