NFL analyst has a controversial take on Chris Godwin injury situation
The season-ending injury to Chris Godwin was a hammer blow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their offense. A dreaded ACL injury will now see Godwin miss the rest of the season and quite possibly a bit of next year as well, depending on his recovery.
Godwin was in great form for the Bucs before his knee injury, totaling 1,103 receiving yards and five touchdowns as he was one of Tom Brady's favorite targets.
Now Brady is going to have to find another target with Godwin gone for the year. Fox Sports analyst and guest on First Things First Chris Broussard made a bold statement about Godwin, saying that he believes that the Bucs already have a receiver who is better than the 25-year-old.
“Antonio Brown, whatever you may think of him. He can replace Chris Godwin. Antonio Brown when at his the peak of his powers is better than Chris Godwin, as good as Godwin is," Broussard said.
Is Antonio Brown better than Chris Godwin?
Also read: "You Can't Turn Down Playing with Tom Brady & AB" - Le'Veon Bell reveals how the Buccaneers stopped him from retiring
Broussard's comments will certainly have fans of Chris Godwin up in arms; but is the analyst wrong?
Godwin has speed, technical route and running ability; and he possesses good hands and is dependable on the field.
#ChrisGodwin @Buccaneers right knee hyperextension with MCL component. Taped and trying but hard to plant/cut. Heroically trying to return but uphill climb to be effective. https://t.co/6YcK6yJ35y
Antonio Brown is all of those things; but he has an additional quality that Godwin doesn't, and that's experience. Also, Brown's résumé over his first four years in the NFL makes for good reading.
In two of his four seasons, Brown amassed over 1,000 receiving yards, with his best being a year during which he registered 1,499 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Godwin, on the other hand, only has one 1,000-yard receiving season, which was in 2019, although he did catch nine touchdown passes.
Look who scored for the Tampa Bay #Bucs. Antonio Brown finds the endzone for a #Buccaneers #touchdown
#TampaBay #NFL #NFLTwitter #Touchdown @MWSNsports
https://t.co/YC5eCzkZ5C
But that is where the comparison ends, and Brown overtakes Godwin simply because he has been in the league longer.
Brown had five consecutive seasons (2014-2018) in which he went well over 1,000 yards receiving. He also had ten or more touchdowns in four of those seasons, with 15 TDs coming in 2018.
Antonio Brown's best season was in 2015 when he accumulated 1,834 receiving yards and ten touchdowns as he finished second in receiving yards behind Julio Jones, who had 1,871 yards for the season.
Can Godwin get to those dizzy heights? After what we have already seen from him, yes he can; but at this stage Antonio Brown is the better receiver and will alleviate the loss of Godwin for Tom Brady as the Buccaneers look to defend their Super Bowl crown.
Also read: "You can't hit anyone in the knees anymore" - Tom Brady urges NFL to address WR protection after Chris Godwin's ACL injury