Chris Godwin, Penn State
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 209 lbs.
Arms: 31 5/8”
Hands: 9 1/8”
Vertical: 36”
40-yard dash: 4.42 seconds
One of the players who saw his value skyrocket at the NFL Combine was Godwin, who ran a low-4.4 forty-yard dash while weighing in at nearly 210 pounds. This combination of height, weight, and speed cannot be ignored. Some have vaulted him all the way up into the first round, but there are only so many of those picks to go around. The question is, does Godwin have first round talent?
Before the Combine, I watched Godwin’s game film and came away impressed. He didn’t always come down with the contested balls, but he always made it close. He was able to make throws look better than they were, simply because he knows how to use his body and box out defenders. Going back to watch the contested catches that he dropped, most wide receivers wouldn’t have even made them contested to begin with.
Not that you need me to tell you now (because of his 4.42 forty), but Godwin’s burst shows on the field as well, with my notes saying that he moved extremely well for a guy his size. The best part, however, is that his speed doesn’t sacrifice his physicality – he is tough to bring down after the catch.
The downfall to Godwin are his inconsistent hands, which is the reason why I don’t see him drafted in the first round. He’s a natural hands catcher, so I don’t know if it’s a lack of concentration, but Godwin seems to just flat out drop passes from time-to-time. He put on a great show at the Combine, though, which is why he’s creeping up draft boards. He’s just a slightly above-average route runner, which is why he often has to make contested grabs. The positive here is that he’s actually able to run the full route tree, which is something not many wide receivers coming out of college can do.
To get a player who has the jump and catch ability with 4.4 speed is something NFL teams covet, so it’s definitely worth monitoring where Godwin lands, because he can make an impact downfield. He also just turned 21 years old, so he still has plenty of time to grow at the NFL level. He may not be a fantasy contributor right away, but he’s a guy to target in dynasty rookie drafts mid-to-late first round.
Potential landing spot
There are plenty of teams who can use guys like Godwin in their receiving corps, but for me, a team like the Rams makes sense. They lost Kenny Britt this offseason, leaving a gaping hole at wide receiver. While they did go out and pick up Robert Woods, he’s a more of a slot receiver who can contribute outside at times. It’s also important to note that his NFL comparison below is Pierre Garcon, who new head coach Sean McVay worked with in Washington. They need to surround Jared Goff with talent and I don’t see any way that Corey Davis or Mike Williams makes it to them at pick No. 37. Other teams that I could see taking a chance on him in the second or third round are the Browns, 49ers, Cardinals, Redskins, and Cowboys.
NFL comparison
On tape Godwin reminds me of Pierre Garcon, a player who can run all the routes and is solid in nearly every category. In college, Godwin didn’t play the slot at all, which is similar to Garcon when he came into the league. The Colts used him almost exclusively on the outside, though Garcon did start to play some slot later in his career when he went to the Redskins. The expectation for Godwin may not be to catch as many receptions as Garcon, but certainly to be more productive around the goal line.
To read up on some of the other high-profile NFL Draft prospects, check out the links below:
Corey Davis – (WR, Western Michigan)
Mike Williams – (WR, Clemson)
John Ross – (WR, Washington)
Taywan Taylor – (WR, Western Kentucky)
JuJu Smith-Schuster – (WR, USC)
Ep. 71: Early Mock Draft & March Madness
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.