So much for that post-Pro Day lift.
A day after USC quarterback Matt Barkley completed 56 of 62 passes against the Kukua defense, the buzz isn’t entirely positive. Greg Cosell of NFL Films characterized Barkley as a fourth-round talent on The Dan Patrick Show.
“In the NFL, you’ve got to be able to make throws,” Cosell said. “Often in difficult situations against very challenging defenses.”
Cosell said that Barkley has an average arm at best, and that he’s not particularly athletic in and around the pocket. While Cosell acknowledged that Barkley could still be a first-round pick, Cosell said, “I think there are too many limitations.”
But what about the fact (as Dan mentioned during the segment and as Ross Tucker said on last night’s edition of Pro Football Talk) that Barkley was viewed as a consensus top-five or top-10 talent if he had come out in 2012?
“Consensus by whom?” Cosell said. “That was essentially media talk. We don’t know because how NFL teams would have evaluated him.”
All it takes is one team to evaluate Barkley as a first-round pick to make him a first-round pick. Perhaps more accurately, all it takes is one owner to insist on taking Barkley in the first round to make him a first-round pick.
We’ll find out in four weeks whether any team or owner feels that way about the next possibly not-so-great USC quarterback.