Chris Godwin Forgoes Senior Season, Declares For NFL Draft

Penn State’s offense will be losing a major weapon in 2017 as Chris Godwin announced that he will be forgoing his final season at Penn State, and will enter the NFL Draft.

The junior has been a staple at wide receiver during the James Franklin era, hauling in an impressive 154 receptions for 2,421 yards and 18 touchdowns through his three years in Happy Valley, all while playing in John Donovan anemic offenses his first two seasons. He capped off his stellar career with conceivably his best performance, reeling in nine catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns in Penn State’s 52-49 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl.

While Godwin wasn’t the talent that Allen Robinson or Bobby Engram was, he finds himself squarely in the second-tier of best wide receivers in Penn State’s history, along with the likes of Bryant Johnson, Kenny Jackson, and Deon Butler, just to name a few.

Although there were plenty of reasons for Godwin to return to Penn State for one final season, this is probably the correct move. Godwin has very few holes in his game — great hands, good route runner, physical blocker, displays tremendous body control, etc. His hinderance will be that he isn’t an elite athlete, and unfortunately, that’s something that really can’t be corrected with another season. Add in that this is one of the weaker wide receiver classes the NFL Draft has seen in sometime, and Godwin should find himself solidly in the mid-rounds.

Moving forward for the Nittany Lions, Godwin will be difficult to replace. But if there’s one spot the Nittany Lions have talent and depth, it’s wide receiver. Veterans DaeSean Hamilton, Saeed Blacknall, and DeAndre Thompkins all return, and behind them you have the twin towers — Irvin Charles and Juwan Johnson. Add in that tight end Mike Gesicki will also be back, and there’s a myriad of weapons — even without Godwin — for Trace McSorley in the passing game.

Good luck to Chris on hopefully a healthy, successful, and profitable NFL career!