From being a top 10 prospect last year, Barkley is now considered a second round pick.
When Matt Barkley announced last year that he would return to USC for his senior season, many experts concluded that he was saving himself to become the number one overall pick in this year’s draft.
However, the 22-year old had a very poor year with his college team, in which his accuracy and arm strength came into question.
Now a year on, he has more more doubters than he has ever had, but yet still has enough talent and upside in order to become a solid starter in the NFL. Despite his ability to work inside a pro-style offence, Barkley has raised questions about his arm strength and accuracy, something that has seen him fall dramatically down some team’s draft boards.
He can still become the franchise Quarterback that some teams may desire, and being selected in the second round means that a potential team can draft an offensive player in order to ease him into the role as the man to lead an offence in his rookie year.
While it is likely Geno Smith will be taken ahead of him as the first Quarterback off the board in the draft, scouts will like the potential Barkley has, and already displayed during his junior year at college. He knows how to control an entire offensive unit, and playing in the Pac-12, he has developed the ability to read and understand more complex defences, something that will help in his early years.
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