TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7) have been in good hands with wide receiver Chris Godwin.
In his seventh season, Godwin, 27, has been a reliable receiving option for quarterback Baker Mayfield. Godwin is one of only two NFL receivers with more than 50 receptions without a drop this season.
For Godwin, it all comes down to mental preparation and meditation.
“I think it’s mental focus,” offensive coordinator Dave Canales said. “He’s got natural ball skills, but I think if you guys have seen him before games, he does a lot of meditation, a lot of visualization. He actually walks down the field through the different routes that he has in the game plan. There’s some great science behind that.”
“I think a lot of it has been focused around just being present,” Godwin added. “Meditation has helped me a lot with that. I feel like there’s a lot of noise that happens surrounding the game – obviously, it’s the most popular game in our country. There’s so much surrounding it, so a lot of times it can be easy to get distracted by the outside noise.”
Godwin comes through when his team needs him the most. His 15 first-down receptions on third down rank near the top of the league.
“He’s one of those guys [where] even if he’s covered [with] a guy blanketed on him, he’s going to find a way to make a catch,” Mayfield said. “He’s got all the things you want when it comes down to that.”
”He's not the fastest, he's not the shiftiest,” cornerback Zyon McCollum said. "Speed guys can stay glued on him all the way down the field, and he still finds some way to make the catch. I've been on him a couple of times in practice where I'm right there, and he still somehow makes the catch. It doesn't make sense to me.”
But it all makes sense when you see the work Godwin puts in.
“Repetition helps, as well. Whether it’s getting on the JUGS [machine] or just seeing the ball, I feel like there’s a lot more that goes into catching than people realize,” Godwin said. “I feel like most people just think it’s like a hands thing, right? But a lot of it has to do with your eyes, as well.”
See ball, catch ball. Godwin makes a hard game look easy.
