(Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
There were plenty of big surprises to take away from the 2013 NFL Draft, but nothing may have been a bigger surprise than former USC quarterback Matt Barkley slipping all the way down to the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round. There may not have been any steller quarterbacks from this year’s draft class guaranteed to go in the first round, but the argument can be made there were plenty of teams that could have used a quarterback like Barkley on their roster considering how much potential he has as a franchise player.
One player that recognizes Barkley’s potential–Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals.
Obviously as a USC graduate, Palmer is going to say he’s a big fan of Barkley’s, but he does have a point when discussing how much of a steal the quarterback is for the Eagles. For a player that was considered to be a top-10 pick if he chose not to return to USC for his senior season, Philadelphia knew Barkley was worth the risk and could easily turn into their next franchise quarterback.
Say what you want about Barkley’s arm strength, but the fact that he threw for nearly 7,000 yards and 75 touchdowns over the last two seasons shows what he’s capable at the NFL level. The fact that Philadelphia was able to snag Barkley as late in the fourth round was a huge steal on Philadelphia’s end and it’s glad to see other players like Palmer recognize that as there’s a good chance a handful of teams in need of help at quarterback will be regretting their decision to pass on the USC down the road.
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