The Eagles have already been reported to have held/scheduled private workouts with the consensus top three quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft class (Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, and Paxton Lynch). Given the fact that they might not be able to select their top player at the position with the 8th overall pick, the front office and coaching staff are making sure to focus on the second tier of prospects they could target in the mid-to-later rounds. According to ESPN's Adam Caplan that group includes a player who should be quite familiar with those in the area: Penn State's Christian Hackenberg.
As just noted on @SportsCenter, you can add Christian Hackenberg to the #Eagles workout list (expected to take place next week).
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 31, 2016
Once seen as a potential 1st overall pick, Hackenberg had a tumultuous tail-end to his career with the Nittany Lions. As a freshman, the blue chip recruit shined under the tutelage of Bill O'Brien during his last year in Happy Valley. After James Franklin took over, Hackenberg regressed and struggled to recapture the promise he showed as a freshman. Hackenberg declared for the draft almost instantly following his final game with Penn State, and has drawn considerable notoriety in the pre-draft process for his reported honest regarding the coaching staff he worked under his final two years. Robert Klemko of the MMQB with the story.
Quarterback Christian Hackenberg continues to blame to coach James Franklin for his struggles while at Penn State, according to Robert Klemko of the MMQB.
“Despite the fact that it's probably true, you don't want to hear a kid say that,” one NFL evaluator told Klemko.
Despite the question marks surrounding his off-field attitude, Hackenberg is the type of prospect that teams will think they can 'fix'. His physical gifts are enough for a team to try and work around his shortcomings elsewhere. Though he isn't the potential top pick he once was, Hackenberg is still a prospect that teams will most likely target in the second day of the draft.
Somers Price is a contributor for Eagledelphia.com and can be followed on Twitter @somersprice
