Nearly as soon as Day 3 kicked off there was a trade between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles. With Philly expressing interest in drafting a “franchise quarterback” this season, their first under coach Chip Kelly it seemed they were not going to let a big name quarterback slip past them on Day 3.
Kelly, in his first NFL gig, took USC quarterback Matt Barkley.
Barkley was expected to come out in the 2012 NFL Draft and was regarded as a sure fire first round pick. Instead the Trojan decided to return to USC for his senior season.
Losing his left tackle Matt Kalil to the NFL Draft (who went fourth overall to the Minnesota Vikings), Barkley and USC had a subpar season. Adding to his senior season debacle, Barkley injured his shoulder against UCLA on November 17th and because of it was forced to miss the Sun Bowl versus Georgia Tech.
Barkley, was the first true freshman in history to start at USC, and walks away with strong numbers: 12,327 yards and 116 touchdowns. However, questions arose of his arm strength and his ability to take over a game.
With Kelly familiar with Barkley, Kelly’s previous stint was with USC’s PAC 12 rival Oregon, it seemed like a no brainer at 98th overall and sure enough it was Barkley.
Now the question turns to who will be the starter: Mike Vick, fellow Pac 12 alum Nick Foles, or Barkley?
