Buccaneers almost didn't draft franchise star WR

Jason Licht and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' front office put together another strong showing in the NFL Draft. The overall thought process was that defense would be the main priority, and while they did address those needs, they also selected two wide receivers in Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson to help out on the offensive side of the ball.

Both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin aren't getting any younger, and even with their continued production, Tampa Bay felt the need to get ahead rather than wait later down the line to address the potential need.

Evans is notably Licht's first draft pick once he became general manager of the franchise, but Godwin was also another excellent selection by him in the third round of the 2017 draft. However, it almost didn't turn out that way as Licht and the Bucs had another wide receiver ranked above Godwin to join the red and pewter.

Mistake Avoided

In a recent interview on the Green Light Podcast, Licht was asked if he's ever had hindsight regarding a draft pick by former Buccaneer Beau Allen. Licht couldn't immediately think of one that had haunted him over the years, but he did mention that the franchise almost didn't end up with Godwin back in 2017, as they had what context clues reveals to be WR Carlos Henderson on their radar.

"Well, I'll tell ya — when we drafted Chris Godwin, we had another receiver that we were gonna take," Licht said. "And he went almost right before us. And we were like, 'Well, I guess we'll take Godwin.' That guy lasted a year in the league."

Henderson, who came out of Louisiana Tech, went two picks before Godwin to the Denver Broncos with the 82nd overall pick.

Luckily for Licht and the Buccaneers, things unfolded this way, as Godwin has turned into a franchise player who is very valuable to what the team likes to do. Godwin is the franchise's second-leading receiver with 579 receptions, while Henderson only saw one season in the league where he was unable to secure a single catch — likely due to an off-field issue involving a banned substance and the police.

Licht is notably one of the top-five general managers in the entire league, and even though he is praised for his picks, it is nice to get lucky every once in a while.