Is it Chris Godwin or bust for the Patriots?
If they want to surround Drake Maye with more talent in their offensive huddle; if they want to infuse some professionalism into their receiver room; if they want to show their fanbase they are serious about putting a better product on the field in 2025 -- Godwin needs to be their priority.
When the NFL's legal tampering period begins Monday at 12 p.m. ET, he is the clear-and-obvious target for them to pursue.
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Other high-end pass-catchers came off the board well before the legal-tampering period -- which lasts two days before the official start to the new league year on Wednesday -- even began.
Davante Adams got his wish to head to the West Coast and landed with the Rams on a two-year contract Sunday night.
DK Metcalf got a massive new contract from the Steelers after he was acquired in a trade that sent a second-round pick to Seattle. Though Metcalf possesses a skill set that qualifies as intriguing for receiver-needy teams, New England never made an offer to the Seahawks to trade for the 27-year-old, per a league source.
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As Mike Vrabel builds his program in Foxboro, he's going to be focused on bringing in the right types of people to establish the kind of culture he wants. He's going to be deliberate in the choices he makes, understanding the team is not one or two pieces away from contending for a championship. This is a group, Vrabel understands, that instead needs to buttress its foundation of core pieces.
Importing Adams or Metcalf or any other offensive weapon who might, for example, not hesitate to get in Maye's ear if he's not getting the ball as often as he'd like? As badly as the Patriots could use an infusion of talent, making those types of additions is not what the team is clamoring to do.
That leads us to Godwin, who sources have told NBC Sports Boston is one of the team's top targets in free agency.
In Tampa Bay, Godwin has established a league-wide reputation as a hard-working pro and an excellent teammate. He's 29 years old, and before suffering a season-ending dislocated ankle in Week 7, he was on pace for one of his best seasons in 2024.
According to Reception Perception, which tracks receiver success rates on all route types against all coverages, Godwin ranked in the 81st percentile among NFL wideouts in success rate against man coverage. Prior to getting hurt, his 75.2 percent success rate against man coverage ended up in a similar range to where he was five years earlier in 2019 (75.4).
Godwin fared even better against zone looks, ranking in the 88th percentile. His combination of veteran savvy and strong hands (88.9 percent contested catch rate and no drops in seven games in 2024, per Reception Perception) will make him a big-time threat in the intermediate area of the field wherever he signs.
He played both in the slot and on the outside for the Buccaneers, seeing 57.5 percent of his snaps inside, where he's a more-than-capable blocker. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, it's been long established, appreciates that kind of mentality in his wideouts because of what it can do for the unpredictability of his attack.
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Godwin's health has been the one thing to slow him down over the course of his career. He tore his ACL in 2021, then had another season ended abruptly in 2024 due to a dislocated ankle. But when healthy, he's exactly what the Patriots are looking for, at a position where they are scouring for help, both on the field and off.
Metcalf is out. Adams is out. And big-money left tackle option Ronnie Stanley is off the board as well after re-signing with the Ravens over the weekend.
The Patriots have more cap space than any other team in football, and they have a promising young quarterback in need of help. They could find Maye an upgrade at receiver in the draft, via trade (would the Raiders ever make Jakobi Meyers available?), or with a mid-level free-agent signing.
But none of those options are Godwin, who is the closest thing to a game-changer available on the open market.
Free agency can be unpredictable and chaotic, but it's clear that the Patriots should make a hard charge to sign him. The expectation inside the walls of One Patriots Place is that they'll do exactly that.