Chris Godwin Jr. Week 1 Outlook - Buccaneers at Bengals

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Sun, Sep 13th 2026, 12:44pm EDT

Last year, Chris Godwin had a slow ramp-up in 2025, coming off a horrific ankle fracture in 2024. After coming back in Week 5, he had a fibula injury that delayed his return to a full-time role until Week 13. Once he was back, in Weeks 13-18 (59.7% slot), he had a 16.8% target share, 49.8 receiving yards per game, 1.88 yards per route run, a 21.2% first-read share, and 0.107 first downs per route run. The yards per route run and first downs per route run in that stretch loudly state that Chris Godwin isn't washed or over the hill, as he was also the WR32 in fantasy points per game. Baker Mayfield could lean heavily on Godwin if Emeka Egbuka is being followed by DJ Turner all day. The coverage matchup for Godwin could also work in his favor. Last year, Cincy utilized single high at the sixth-highest rate (56.7%). In Weeks 13-18, Godwin had 1.71 yards per route run and a 21.3% first-read share against single high. Cincy was also horrible at defending the slot, giving up the fifth-most yards per target and fantasy points per opportunity to the position.