Whether you look at it from the perspective of the player or the team, the fact that Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending ACL tear Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints is a terrible injury to have to overcome.
Godwin was enjoying yet another fruitful season in the NFL, as he was looked to often by Tom Brady as his slot guy across the middle. Not necessarily earning the same kind of praise Mike Evans was, Godwin’s role is going to be very tough to replace, especially as the Buccaneers embark on their postseason run.
For fantasy football purposes, this injury is a big-time blow for rosters trying to earn a bid or advance in the playoffs – Godwin is a key piece that helped get your team into postseason contention, and losing him at this point in the season is going to be impossible to replace.
Players outside of Godwin on the Buccaneers are going to be impacted by his injury as well, which forces your rosters to have to become even more flexible come the postseason.
Tom Brady
The biggest player impacted by Godwin’s injury is not Evans, but Godwin’s QB in Brady – having lost his go-to underneath man is going to force him to look elsewhere for bailout opportunities, potentially increasing the likelihood of him taking more sacks.
There have been 15 seasons of 1,000+ yard seasons from wide receivers catching balls from Brady, and Godwin’s 2021 season was the most recent entry on that list. You don’t just go from losing a 1,000-yard receiver and just continue your offensive game plan as nothing happened – there will be players who are impacted, and Brady will need to be more efficient and take a few more chances down the field.
Brady will need to rely on depth to carry this offense, especially with Evans likely missing time with his own injury he suffered on Sunday.
Mike Evans
Now thrust into the spotlight as the team’s lone WR1, Evans will likely be targeted even more. However, suffering from his own ailments will make him less efficient, even with the need for him to be out on the field even more.
Evans has been a top-12 WR on the year so far, and his target share has been one that lends itself to being a WR1. A constant target for Brady all over the field, Evans will continue to line up and be the top focus of the opposing defense, bum hamstring and all.
A timeline is still not officially known for Evans, but all signs point to him being able to make a quick recovery, maybe not even missing any time. If he does miss their Week 16 affair, plan accordingly and address your WR depth through your league’s waiver wire.
Other Options
Other players will be called upon to step up in lieu of Godwin, which puts larger importance on Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Tyler Johnson, and others.
Both Gronk and Brown have had their fair shares of being the offensive catalyst for this team this season, making those two options the likeliest beneficiaries of expanded roles. But don’t count out Johnson, who received a season-high seven targets when Godwin and Evans both departed.
Gronk has always been one of Brady’s favorite targets, but don’t expect his role to change much – what can be expected is that he receives more targets and plays ran for him that utilize him as the top target.
For Brown, earning back the team’s trust after his vaccine card debacle is one thing, but his on-field performance may be just what this team needs in a time of need. Sliding into either the WR1 or WR2 role, Brown may end up being the fantasy football savior that many teams desperately need heading into the playoffs.
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