The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense was one of the better stories about the 2025 season. Liam Coen led this unit to take giant steps across the board, getting a career year out of Baker Mayfield after he previously struggled in Tampa Bay. Rookie running back Bucky Irving certainly helped matters (and by that I mean, allowed them to bench Rachaad White). Now, Liam Coen is gone, and Chris Godwin is recovering from a devastating ankle injury. Let’s take a look at the receiver room and assess the three main names here!
Overdrafted:
Chris Godwin, Wide Receiver (WR32, Pick 70 Overall)
Initially, the “best case scenario” for Chris Godwin’s injury was that he would be back for the playoffs (he wasn’t), then the Buccaneers revealed the plan was to have him back for week one. Then, Godwin started camp on the PUP list, after “Godwin was sidelined during OTAs and the team’s three-day mandatory minicamp in June — not even practicing with a member of the team’s training staff off to the side, which is typically customary for injured players who don’t practice.”
Godwin still isn’t practicing, and there’s seemingly no update on his physical state, as all the articles about him at camp have to do with him mentoring rookie Emeka Egbuka. The newest reports are that the beginning of the season is in question, which means he will also need a ramp-up period.
Question: Is it good that all the news about your WR3 coming off a catastrophic ankle injury is about what a good coach and mentor he is? I’ll pass on him at his price.
Underdrafted:
Mike Evans, Wide Receiver (WR20, Pick 41 Overall)
Forever underrespected, forever underdrafted, forever getting 1,000 receiving yards. The eternal Mike Evans is once again going too low. He’s finished as a top-ten receiver in three of the last four seasons (he was WR13 in 2022), and people always underdraft him. Over the previous five seasons, Mike Evans has finished the year as WR12, on average, and he went as WR16 in drafts, on average.
He barely made his 1,000 yards for the eleventh time last year, mostly because he missed two games. His yards per target were identical to the prior four seasons (9.1 YPT), and his catch rate was the highest of his career, getting the fourth-most touchdowns of his career (11). There’s no sign that Evans is slowing down, and an injury to Chris Godwin just reinforces his upside. If you can get Evans as your WR2 or WR3 at the end of the third round, then mash that button.
Sleeper:
Emeka Egbuka, Wide Receiver (WR51, Pick 118 Overall)
Emeka Egbuka is one of three wide receivers in this class that I firmly believe have a chance to start producing day one (alongside Travis Hunter & Tet McMillan). Egbuka is a young Chris Godwin, down to the inside/outside skillset that gives offensive coordinators the versatility to get him on the field and into positions to win. He’s the latest in the hit squad known as the OSU wide receiver room, which brings us fantasy studs annually.
He will get a chance to produce immediately in two-wide receiver sets with Chris Godwin on the shelf, and the Buccaneers ran 3WR sets at the eighth-highest rate last season (71%). He starts above Jalen McMillan, last year’s breakout. He’s a low-risk, league-winning reward in 2025 fantasy football leagues.
