Pros and Cons of Lions Signing WR Chris Godwin

Read more on the pros and cons of the Detroit Lions signing wide receiver Chris Godwin this offseason.

You've heard it plenty before and you'll hear it plenty more in the coming weeks: The Lions will go into the offseason with wide receiver as one of their biggest positional needs.

Until rookie wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown emerged with six straight games of eight or more catches to end the season, there wasn't much hope for the position at all.

St. Brown ended up finishing the 2021 campaign with a team-leading 90 catches for 912 yards and five touchdowns. He solidified his status as a reliable receiving option for the team headed into the 2022 season. 

Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds also displayed periodical glimpses of high-end play, but not enough to anoint them as go-to targets in the passing game. Additionally, both of them are set to be unrestricted free agents, and there's no guarantee that either of them will be back in the Motor City next season.

This offseason, the onus is on the Lions to subsequently add a couple of receivers that can supplement the production of St. Brown. It's the only way the receivers room will be able to take the next step, and it will go a long way toward Detroit becoming a more competitive team a season from now.

Lions receivers coach Antwaan Randle El believes the organization needs to acquire an "X" receiver, as in a pass-catcher that can line up out wide and stretch a defense deep while St. Brown and tight end T.J. Hockenson absorb the attention of defenses over the middle of the field.

"They already know, we're going to be searching for a guy that can go in and help our offense put this ball down the field and really be a guy that we can — I shouldn't just say throw it up ... but we know we can get man (coverage) one-on-one on the backside. Let's get that ball over there, knowing he's going to win. That's the idea behind it," Randle El told reporters this week at the Senior Bowl.

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Enter Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

The versatile wideout can line up anywhere on the field and have his way with opposing defenses, whether it be out of the slot or on the outside while going up against man coverage.

Godwin caught a career-high 98 balls, and amassed his second career 1,000-plus-yard season (1,103 yards) in 2021. He also caught more than 71 percent of the balls thrown his way for a third straight campaign.  

Also, working in the Penn State product's favor is the fact that he'll be just 26 years old come the start of the 2022 season. 

He's a player that is still clearly in his prime, and he'd be a great asset to Randle El's receivers group, forming a dynamic one-two punch with St. Brown.

The only downfall to acquiring Godwin would be the money the Lions would have to commit to him over the long term.

According to Spotrac, he's going to be able to command a five-year contract worth around $18.1 million a season on the open market. 

That might price him out of playing in Detroit. 

But, if I'm Lions general manager Brad Holmes, I'm looking past that hefty price tag and doing my best to bring the Pro Bowl receiver to Motown.