Eagles eye Chris Godwin, heavily represented at Penn State pro day

Approximately 20 NFL teams were in attendance at the Penn State Nittany Lions pro day workout on Thursday, including three representatives from the Philadelphia Eagles.

On hand for the Eagles were senior football advisor Tom Donahue and pro scout Phil Bhaya, in addition to college and pro scout Ryan Myers.

With Alshon Jeffery signing a one-year contract with the team during free agency and Jordan Matthews entering the final season of his rookie deal, wide receiver could very well be a position that Philly looks to address come April.

Enter top-rated Penn State wideout prospect Chris Godwin, who stood on his numbers from the NFL scouting combine and ran sharp routes during positional drills.

“I felt really good about my numbers in Indy,” he stated following the workout. “They just want to see how loose your hips are, how agile you are and if you can catch the ball. I caught every ball, did everything right.”

Godwin’s agent Eugene Lee confirmed he has nine private workouts scheduled prior to the draft, including one with the Eagles.

His former teammate and quarterback Christian Hackenberg (Jets), whom Godwin worked out with a few times during the week leading up to his pro day, was in the crowd to lend his support.

“He’s always been a hard-working, self-motivated person,” Hackenberg said during the session. “We always used to stay after practice and do extra work, he’s always acted like a pro.”

Another player squarely on the Eagles’ radar is defensive end Garrett Sickels, who the team appears to be keeping close tabs on.

“They wanted to know if I was going to do linebacker drills out there [today],” said Sickels, who is considered a “tweener” at 6-foot-3½” and 253 pounds. “I spoke to their defensive line coach [Chris Wilson] and defensive coordinator [Jim Schwartz] at the combine, so that was pretty good.”

The last time we saw team captain Brandon Bell, he suffered an elbow injury in the Rose Bowl which required surgery. Unable to compete in any All-Star events and left without an invitation to Indianapolis, this was his lone opportunity to compete in front of NFL scouts. He made the most of it, participating in all the testing while looking like a player at full strength during drills.

Afterwards, Bell said he too met with the Eagles and said that he feels 100 percent healthy. “The last three months came down to today,” he said.

Other players who spoke with Eagles reps following the workout include safety Malik Golden, who measured in at 6-foor-1, 202 pounds with just 5 percent body fat and timed 4.50 in the 40-yard dash.

Not to be left out of their investigation, defensive end Evan Schwan also drew the Birds’ interest, as he was administered the Wonderlic test by a team official prior to the morning workout. “I’ve talked to teams who play a 3-4, teams who play a 4-3, they all seem to like the motor that I have, so we’ll see what happens.”