Mike Evans and Chris Godwin RANK in PFF’s Top 10 Receivers in Contested-Catch Situations
2 min read
PFF compiled a list from 2,606 passes that they considered being contested-catch opportunities last year. According to PFF’s Ben Linsey:
“These are plays where the defender is in range and contests the pass at the catch point. 28 wide receivers saw at least 20 contested-catch opportunities, and these 10 gave their respective quarterbacks the most help by pulling in those proverbial ’50-50′ balls at the highest rates.”
#1 is Tyreek Hill.
Now, that is out of the way, where does Mike Evans rank?
Mike Evans can find his name in the top 5 sitting comfortably at #3.
“Coming in at number three on the list is a wide receiver that shouldn’t come as a shock when discussing the league’s best at bringing down contested passes – Mike Evans. His overall grade of 84.3 last season was good for 13th-best at the position, and a lot of that was thanks to him bringing in 16 of his 26 contested targets. There’s a good reason for Jameis Winston to have faith in the five-year veteran out of Texas A&M heading into next year.”
Last season Evans caught 88 receptions for 1,524 yards and 8 touchdowns. The high flying defense helped Evans achieve milestones aplenty.
He set the franchise record for most receiving TDs, the most receiving yards in franchise history, and is one of a few receivers to consistently have five 1,000-yard seasons since coming into the league. Mike Evans is certainly a superstar!
Chris Godwin gets the nod at #10 for his second year performance!
“Rounding out the list is another second-year wide receiver in Godwin. He is an excellent example of a wide receiver that may not have the best separation skills out there, but compensates well for that with his physicality and hands at the catch point. When you look at all wide receivers with 30 or more contested catch opportunities over the last two seasons, Godwin comes in even higher at fifth with a contested catch rate of 54.5 percent.”
Chris Godwin quickly became a household name among Bucs fans. After gaining so much ground in the past two seasons, Godwin has made strides towards landing himself a starting role. There is no question in anyone’s mind that Chris Godwin has earned his right to play a bigger role on the offense and head coach Bruce Arians will make him an integral part of this year’s offense.
“I think Chris Godwin is gonna be close to a 100 catch guy. He’s never coming off the field this season.”
During his past two seasons with the Buccaneers, he caught 93 passes for 1,367 and 8 touchdowns. He did all of this in 7 starts. It is certainly time to see him paired with Mike Evans. Godwin was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft and can be considered a draft steal; I know that I do.
