How Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Will Be Used In Bucs’ New Offense

There were times when former Bucs offensive coordinators Byron Leftwich and David Canales would sometimes forget to get the ball to superstar receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in the passing game. The first half would go by in a game and either Evans or Godwin wouldn’t have a catch – or perhaps even a target.

It was maddening at times. So much so that Chris Godwin’s wife actually took to social media to complain about his usage.

Well, that won’t happen with new Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who has a “playmakers” section on the back of his play sheet to remind him to get the ball to his best weapons. In Tampa Bay, that will be Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, assuming the Bucs can re-sign Evans in free agency.

“On the back of my call sheet I have a player box for multiple players,” Coen said. “Ultimately, we want to get the ball in their hands right now – no questions asked. The coverage is not going to change – no matter what happens – that the ball is going in their hands right now. This game is a personnel game, right? And at the end of the day, it’s about those guys.”

In fact, one of Coen’s mantras and core philosophies is “players over plays.” And it sounds like it will be music to the ears of Evans and Godwin, Tampa Bay’s 1,000-yard receivers – and to the ears of Bucs fans, too.

“I was taught in times of crisis to think ‘players not about plays,’” Coen said. “It’s not about maybe what I like, or the play that I might like most. But, what’s going to get the ball into our best playmaker’s hands? What can our guys execute at a high level? And be able to go do and have confidence.”

That playmaker for Coen at the University of Kentucky in 2021, which was his first season as the play-caller, was Wad’Dale Robinson, who wound up being a second-round pick by the New York Giants in 2022.

“We had a kid two years ago, Wan’Dale Robinson that had 104 [catches] for 1,300 [yards],” Coen said. “Ultimately, just tried to get him the ball as many times as possible. And I could sleep better at night that way.”

Mike Evans On The Move, And A New (Old) Role For Chris Godwin

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Should he remain in Tampa Bay in free agency, wide receiver Mike Evans will continue to be the featured weapon in Liam Coen’s passing game. If Evans stays healthy for 17 games, an 11th-straight season with 1,000 yards receiving seems all but certain in 2024 if he’s back with the Bucs.

Coen spoke glowingly about the five-time Pro Bowl receiver, who he believes can thrive in the bunch formations he’ll bring to Tampa Bay.

“Mike, obviously being the size that he is, his ability to be able to track the football down the field, but also his ability to be able to get in and out of cuts at that size,” Coen said. “To be able to put him inside a little bit more. To be able to run some of those option routes and choice routes on the inside. Man, I think that’s a winning edge, and something that we’d like to be able to utilize.”

Part of the reason why Coen took the job in Tampa Bay as the offensive coordinator was not just the chance to call plays at the NFL or to possibly work with Baker Mayfield again, but also to utilize the talents of Evans and Godwin.

“It’s huge,” Coen said. “When you have playmakers, life’s a lot more fun. Like I said, you can call any play in the world, but when you can just call a slant, or a hitch, or an Omaha, and the ball can potentially go in the end zone … or you call a ‘go’ [route] and those 50-50 [balls] are now 80-20’s or 70-30’s – that’s not anything I can coach.”

Coen’s excitement about the Bucs’ receiving corps doesn’t just extend to Evans. He sees Chris Godwin returning to playing more slot receiver in 2024, just as he did from 2019-2022 in Bruce Arians’ scheme.

“I think there are some pieces there, right? And obviously, if you get Mike back things look a little bit different,” Coen said. “But I do believe that there are some real pieces on the perimeter there for us to be able to be competitive at this level, and compete in the division and out.

Rams WR Cooper Kupp and Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

“When you’ve got a guy that’s 6-foot-4 and change, 220 [pounds], and can move the way he does, and then you got a guy like Chris that I really think can be really dynamic on the inside – that’s where I envision him playing, more on the inside playing that F position that ultimately Cooper [Kupp] played. A lot of this lot of things do run through that [F receiver]. So I’m excited about him.”

Last year under Dave Canales, Godwin played 655 snaps out wide and just 335 snaps inside in the slot, which is where Kupp sees most of his action with the Rams. A return to the inside would be putting Godwin in the best position for him to return to form, as his snaps by position numbers were inverted from a year ago. In 2022, Godwin played 628 snaps in the slot and just 311 out wide.

Putting playmakers like Godwin and Evans in the best possible roles is what good coaching is all about. Featuring that dynamic duo in bunch formations to help create free releases is what Coen is planning on doing in Tampa Bay.

“That’s something that was asked a lot, and we had to do in L.A. a ton because that offense ran through Coop (Cooper Kupp),” Coen said. “Things have changed a little bit there. He’s got a little bit more help, but we had to be creative, right? Whether it was by formation, alignment, where we would put him, how he would end up in the final formation. Just by three different formations – Double, Dixie and Daffy – we would move the ‘F’ in three different positions.”

Liam Coen Likes Bucs’ Other Receivers, Too

Bucs WRs Trey Palmer, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Rams’ passing game wasn’t just Cooper Kupp during Liam Coen’s tenure there. Los Angeles also had the likes of Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and other complementary pieces for quarterbacks Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford to throw to. Coen likes the entire Bucs receiving corps.

“I saw Trey [Palmer] a little bit,” Coen said after watching some Bucs film in preparation for his interview with Todd Bowles and the Bucs’ brass. “I think he’s got some long speed. You know he can push the ball down the field a little bit. I know Rakim Jarrett, right? He is somebody that they’re excited about here that’s got the frame, has got some physical traits that I know that people are excited about around here.

“And then the dude from Seattle, David Moore. I mean he made an unbelievable play in the Green Bay game and showed some juice – and in the Eagles game. He showed some real juice.”

Moore is a free agent, and there is a chance he could return unless he follows Dave Canales to Carolina. But Palmer and Jarrett will be entering their second season in Tampa Bay, and of course the hope is that Evans will remain a Buccaneer.

“When you have those types of players the game is a lot more fun, and that’s ultimately what football is – it’s about players, not plays,” Coen said. “But if we can put them in the position to be successful with talent, usually good things happen. So I couldn’t be more excited to get to work with those guys, man. They seem like really good people. And workers. Just like everybody I have heard in this building. So, I’m really excited to get to work with those guys.”

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