Bucs Will Target Mike Evans, Chris Godwin More In Red Zone

Expect a return to what Evans does best in 2023, which is to be featured more as a red zone weapon, especially inside the 5-yard line on fades and wide receiver screens.

“We’ve got to make that a priority,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said during OTAs in May. “Obviously, I think we made it a priority last year. Sometimes it was shut down, sometimes we just misread it here and there, whether it was on the receiver or the O-linemen [not holding up in pass protection].

“We’ve got to get better in that area and get him the football. We know he’s a threat and we know he’s a great player. So we’ve got to constantly find ways to get it to not just him, but Chris as well.”

After spending the entire offseason studying the careers of Evans and Godwin, it’s something Canales knows full well.

Dave Canales Will Move Mike Evans Around More In 2023 To Scheme Him Open

Mike Evans has scored 38 of his franchise-record 81 touchdowns inside the 10-yard line. That’s nearly half of his career touchdown production. And he added another 3-yard TD against the Saints in 30-20 win during the 2020 playoffs.

Whether it’s inside the red zone or anywhere on the field, Evans and Godwin will continue to be the top two passing targets in every passing play progression under Canales.

“That’s the starting point,” Canales said. “You start your passing game – number one in progressions – where’s Mike and where’s Chris? Everybody else will get their touches. It’s happened for years that way. But that’s the way you have to build it. And if the defense cooperates, that ball will go there a lot.”

While Evans has carved out a Hall of Fame career as split end (X receiver), Canales will move him around more in 2023, including into the slot, to create more favorable matchups – and hopefully more touchdowns.

Last year, Evans’ touchdowns plummeted from a career-high 14 touchdowns in 2021 to just six last season. After catching three touchdowns in the first three games of the 2022 season, Evans went 11 games without a score before erupting for three TDs in a 10-catch, 207-yard performance against Carolina in Week 17.

Evans has averaged nine TDs per season since entering the league as a rookie in 2014 when he first set the Bucs’ single-season receiving touchdown record with 12. Godwin, who has averaged six touchdowns per year throughout his career, had just three TDs last season, but failed to score in the last eight games of the regular season.

“There are some different things in different ways that we can try to ensure No. 1 progression gets the ball – without giving too much information,” Canales said. “But there are things you can do to where [Evans] is not just sitting on the single side of a 3×1 formation at X and expecting him to just physically win all the time.”

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Compare Favorably To DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett

Dave Canales, who spent 13 years in Seattle as both a wide receivers coach and a quarterbacks coach, already has experience working with a pair of Pro Bowl receivers in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

“Yeah that tandem, that duo up there, it doesn’t get any faster or any bigger,” Canales said of Lockett and Metcalf. “And with our group, what’s the edge if we’re comparing the two? These two guys (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) are absolute dominant pass catchers. They attack it. They go to it.

“The range – no one’s got range like Mike, you know? And to be able to catch the ball – on any platform – adjust quickly? And Chris, who makes tougher catches than Chris with people all over his back? So I’m really excited about what they bring and to be able to see that come to life.”

Dave Canales Is Excited By The Other Bucs WRs On The Depth Chart

But the Bucs wide receiver position doesn’t just start and end with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Dave Canales raved about the receiver room in general and is excited about some of the team’s rookies and young, developing players.

“As far as the receivers goes, Trey Palmer, you see the speed and it’s real,” Canales said. “Being able to track it down the field and separate versus man-to-man. Rakim Jarrett – you know he gets faster with the ball in his hands. His route tree needs to be developed, but on any given route you see that once he catches it, he has this acceleration, and he turns into a different player with the ball in his hands. It’s fantastic.

“Deven Tompkins, man, he had some sweet routes this spring. Then he had a little bit of an injury that he had to come back from, but you talk about explosive? Kaylon Geiger, we’re just looking for that slot that receiver that can play inside and separate on choice routes, he can do that. I was really excited to see Russell [Gage] a little bit more, but I’ve seen enough of Russ. I’m excited about what he can do for us too.”

These complementary receivers will get their catches and yards, and hopefully touchdowns for Tampa Bay, too. But the primary weapons in the passing game will continue to be Evans and Godwin in Canales’ attack – especially in the red zone.