Why did Matt Barkley drop to the fourth round?
I know what they’re saying. He doesn’t have the arm strength. He isn’t mobile enough. He didn’t lead the Trojans to enough victories. But I still maintain they missed it with Matt Barkley.
He’s not a fourth round pick. If he went in the middle of the second round or even early in the third I could buy it. But fourth round? For a guy that started for four years at a major university? It doesn’t make any sense. And E.J Manuel is the best quarterback in the draft? Really? He’s got the size and the mobility but his accuracy has always been a question. Don’t you need to hit your targets as a quarterback? Geno Smith should have been the first quarterback taken. Manuel was a reach.
Besides arm strength is sometimes overrated. How many NFL quarterbacks are required to throw the ball down the field 60 yards on every play? Those calls are few and far between. Barkley can make all the necessary throws to play in the NFL. The other puzzling thing about the pick though is that it was the Eagles that drafted him. Apparently Chip Kelly isn’t completely committed to running the same offense he did at Oregon.
Barkley will be fine. One thing film and camps and pro days don’t take into consideration is heart. And Barkley has plenty of that.
When Ryan Nassib’s college coach passed on him the red flags immediately went up. Doug Marrone, now the coach at Buffalo, and who coached Nassib at Syracuse, sent Nassib spiraling down to the fourth round when he took Manuel in the first round. I’m sure their next conversation will be a little awkward.
Good to see UCLA’s Datone Jones go in the first round. Nice pick up for Green Bay. The Packers were partial to the powder blue and gold in the draft as they also selected running back Jonathan Franklin in the fourth round.
In regards to Smith he was wise to stick around for the second round. Leaving early and pouting would have been a PR disaster. Smith was a nice pick for the Jets in round two and it was a definite message to Mark Sanchez.
Jon Gruden’s rant on Miami’s selection of Oregon’s Dion Jordan with the third pick in the draft was classic. Gruden definitely showed his “Chucky” side when he questioned Jordan’s athleticism, called him one dimensional and said his speed would be easy to defend in the NFL. If you didn’t know anything about Jordan you felt you did after listening to Gruden. Yeah, he made me believe the Dolphins biffed on that one.
It would be hard to argue that the Vikings didn’t get the best of the draft- or at least the first round. They picked up Florida DT Sharrif Floyd at 23, who some had slated in the top five, then they got Florida State CB Xavier Rhodes at 25 and Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson at 29, both great athletes.
On the bright side for Marrone and Buffalo is that the Bills did get a quality receiver in the second round with USC’s Robert Woods.
Regardless of Manti Teo’s girlfriend, or lack thereof, Teo was a legitimate second round pick. He disappeared against Alabama in the National Championship game and that was the biggest factor in Teo dropping out of the first round.
Still trying to figure out why Dallas drafted Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, a fourth round pick on everybody’s board, in the first round. Is Jerry Jones turning into Al Davis?
No I don’t think the NFL Draft is overrated. It’s much more compelling than the NBA playoffs.
Speaking of the NBA, does it seem like there’s a lot more wrong with the Lakers than just injuries?
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
Leave a Reply