Chris Godwin start or sit: Week 16 fantasy football advice

Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season continues on this afternoon with an NFC South battle for first place featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting the Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

The Buccaneers blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead in a 29-28 loss to the Falcons last Thursday night, briefly losing control of the division lead before regaining it with the Panthers falling to the Saints that Sunday. Wide receiver Chris Godwin at least did his part and the Bucs will need another strong performance from him in this crucial showdown.

Below, we’ll go over Godwin’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 16.

Fantasy Football analysis: Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin

Godwin ended up catching four of five targets for 20 yards and a touchdown in the team’s one-point loss to the Falcons last Thursday night. That score marked his first trip to the end zone since Week 6 of last season against the Saints and it gave the Bucs a comfortable two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter before the team completely collapsed down the stretch.

The veteran All-Pro will be suiting up for just his seventh game this season due to his fibula injury and has gradually re-inserted himself into the gameplan in recent weeks. He was on the field for a whopping 96% of the offensive snaps last Thursday, so we’ll see if he has another heavy workload in store for this one.

Start or sit in Week 16?

Start. The Bucs are sputtering, but they finally have all of their weapons back as last week marked the first time this season where Godwin, Mike Evans, and Emeka Egbuka were all on the field at the same time. A healthy and functioning offense bodes well for all three wideouts and Godwin in particular is going up against a Panthers franchise that he has done well against, averaging 5.2 and 75 yards through 11 career games. He’s good for a Flex start this week.