By: Adam Hulse (@AdamHulseSports)

Through his four seasons in the NFL, Chris Godwin has been one of the best slot receivers in the game. His unique blend of size and speed allow him to line up in a variety of ways in an offensive formation, but he lined up in the slot for 52 percent of his snaps last season. In this position, he is an extremely difficult match-up for opposing defenders, and his steady production proves it.

The Tampa Bay Bucs are strong believers in his abilities, assigning him the franchise tag this offseason worth just under 16 million dollars. They did not come to an agreement on a long-term deal, but that was likely due to the unknowns surrounding the salary cap moving forward. Regardless, he will be making the 15th most money this year for any wide receiver, and will likely get his long-term contract next offseason.

Consistency has been a staple in the young career of Godwin. He generates solid and steady output, with his numbers providing good reason to be optimistic about his future. Let’s examine his young career so far to demonstrate why he will return to being one of the best slot receivers in the NFL.

2017 Season

After being selected in the third round of the NFL Draft out of Penn State, Godwin would put together a respectable rookie campaign with the Bucs. Suiting up for all 16 games, he caught 34 passes for 525 yards and a touchdown. He showed great ability to get big chunks of yardage, as demonstrated by his 15.4 yards per reception average, including a long of 70 yards.

2018 Season

His second season in the league was better than the first. He again played in all 16 games, but this time recorded 59 receptions for 842 yards and 7 touchdowns. He continued to show big-play ability with 14.3 yards per reception.

2019 Season

Godwin put together the best season of his career in his third year in the league. He broke out in a big way 86 receptions for 1333 yards and 9 touchdowns. He achieved the highest yards per reception for any season with 15.5 and recorded the longest reception of his career of 71 yards. What makes these totals even more impressive is that he missed two games that season, so if he played the full 16 games they would have been even higher.

2020 Season

Unfortunately, Godwin missed four games this past season, but he was extremely productive in the 12 games that he did play. He accounted for 65 receptions for 840 yards and 7 touchdowns. Considering the time missed, paired with the fact that the Bucs roster was filled with more competition for targets than it was in the past, makes this an excellent output for Godwin despite the lower overall totals compared to a year ago.

Looking Forward

Expectations are very high for Godwin this upcoming season, as they should be. He was a big part of the Bucs success last year and contributed to them winning the Super Bowl. Along with Mike Evans, he is a featured member of this offense who will receive a high share of the targets and figures to be in the team’s long-term plans, especially since he is still only 25 years old. The youth also indicates that he still has plenty of room to improve even further as a player.

At his peak performance, Godwin is among the very best slot receivers in the NFL. The list is short when looking at who is on his level, and he can justifiably be ranked as high as the top two with Tyreek Hill when defining a slot receiver as one who lines up in the position more than 50 percent of the time. His unique blend of talent and athletic ability will continue to be a problem for opposing defenses for many years to come.

The post WR Chris Godwin Will Return to being one of the Best Slot WRs in the NFL appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Euan Leith

Higgins was a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Colorado State. After playing out his four-year rookie deal, the 26-year old re-signed with the Cleveland Browns for the 2020 season as a bet on himself type of deal.

These things have a funny way of working out, and the chips fell in Higgins’ favor. His teammate, Odell Beckham Jr., suffered a season-ending injury in Week 7, and it opened the door for the receiver to post a career year. He started the final five games of the season and showed exactly what he could do when he gets his chance.

That 16-game pace shown above would blow away Higgins’ career highs in every category. Now, he’s got some recent tape to show the other 31 teams in the league exactly what he can do on the gridiron. So let’s see what teams could be in a market for a player of Higgins’ caliber.

Baltimore Ravens

Higgins joining another AFC North team is high on my list of possibilities. The current wide receivers on the Ravens roster caught 34 touchdowns from Lamar Jackson over the last two seasons, which only equals 53.1 percent of the team’s passing touchdowns. Baltimore isn’t turning into a college spread offense any time soon, but that number needs to trend in an upwards direction.

In a recent mailbag on baltimoreravens.com, Ryan Mink & Garrett Downing answered the fan’s question about the team’s passing offense.

I’m confident the Ravens will add a wideout or two this offseason. They could do it via free agency (there will be Tier-2 wide receivers released under a tightening salary cap)

Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

Is Higgins a Tier-2 wide receiver? Maybe not, but he’s definitely towards the top of the next tier. The 26-year old only made $910,000 in 2020, and if a team like the Ravens came along and offered a fair deal, it would be tough to pass on a chance to play with an electric playmaker like Lamar Jackson.

Tennessee Titans

Ryan Tannehill showed the NFL world that 2019 was not a fluke and had another elite season at the quarterback position. It allowed stud receiver A.J. Brown to have an incredible season, but it also provided a career-best season for Corey Davis.

Davis will likely leave in free agency with a lot of teams looking for receiver help. With the Titans up against the cap before cuts and contract restructuring, they should be in the market for a Davis replacement at an affordable cost. Higgins can be a perfect running mate for Brown and Tannehill in 2021.

He doesn’t have the electric speed or playmaking abilities, but he uses the opportunities thrown his way to produce great results. The sixth-year receiver has caught at least 71 percent of his passes in two of the last three seasons. His sure-handedness would be a welcome sight in Nashville.

Cleveland Browns

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. After re-signing with Cleveland and coming through for the squad when OBJ went down, there’s a chance loyalty comes into play for the free agent.

Higgins returned to the Browns in 2020 under a new Head Coach, and it worked out for both sides. Cleveland won’t be able to snag him for the veteran minimum again, but preliminary contract negotiations were reported in early December. Nothing came of those talks, but that doesn’t mean the teams don’t want to reunite for the foreseeable future.

Higgins is extremely popular in the locker room and with the fan base. He is a constant for the franchise as they continue to build around Baker Mayfield at quarterback. A reunion isn’t the exciting option in free agency, but sometimes it makes sense for both sides.

The post 3 Potential Landing Spots For Rashard Higgins: A Return to Cleveland? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.