Charaun Jareé “C. J.” Goodwin was born on February 4, 1990, he is an American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He is 6 feet 3 inches tall. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football in California (PA).
On October 9, 2018, Goodwin was signed by the Dallas Cowboys off the Bengals practice squad. He was placed on injured reserve on October 26, after undergoing surgery for a broken forearm. On December 24, he was activated off injured reserve, to play gunner on special teams and improve the coverage units. He played in two games, before being sidelined for 8 contests with a broken arm, returning for the season finale and the playoffs. He finished the season with one special team tackle.
In 2019, Goodwin appeared in 16 games for the first time in his career, registering 2 defensive tackles and 10 special teams tackles (led the team). He had 3 special teams tackles against the Chicago Bears.
On March 30, 2020, Goodwin re-signed with the Cowboys. He was released during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, but was re-signed two days later. In Week 2 against his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, Goodwin recovered an onside kick with less than two minutes left in the game to set up the game-winning field goal of the improbable 40–39 comeback win.
The play came to be known as the ‘watermelon’ kick. In Week 16, he had a key role in the 37-17 win against the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was used as a spy defender, to help neutralize the running of rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. On March 19, 2021, Goodwin re-signed with the Cowboys on a two-year contract.