The Philadelphia Eagles waited until the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft to get a quarterback. Many experts had believed they would make a pull for Geno Smith or E.J. Manuel considering those are the quarterbacks that fit best in a Chip Kelly offense. Instead, the Eagles decided on pocket-passer Matt Barkley out of USC who saw his draft stock plummet with each passing round. While it is hard to see how exactly Barkley will fit in with the Eagles, he is getting support from at least one USC alum. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer believes the Eagles got the steal of the draft in Barkley.
Palmer is familiar with Barkley. Both are former USC quarterbacks and have a similar style of play. Palmer could not believe that Barkley sat around until the fourth round.
"For him to go in the fourth round is an absolute steal. I think the bigger question is how he fits into that system and only time will tell that. But whether the guy can play or not, he can absolutely play and I know he's excited to prove a lot of people wrong," Palmer said.
The question of whether or not Barkley fits in with the Eagles is a big one. Kelly intends on bringing his up-tempo offense to the NFL. It will likely focus more on the read-option, needing a more mobile quarterback to run it. This is the opposite style that USC ran with Barkley. Barkley is more of a traditional style quarterback whereas current Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is a typical Kelly-like quarterback.
Barkley will be competing with Vick and backup Nick Foles for a chance at the starting position. Palmer believes that no matter what, Barkley is a professional quarterback who will win games for any team. That became a large question after Barkley failed to live up to high expectations during his senior season. He saw his stats drop which led to his draft stock to drop. A shoulder injury in USC's game against UCLA had many wondering if he would truly be the NFL quarterback many once had hoped for.
Time will tell if Barkley can find his place in the Eagles' offense. They are set to open rookie minicamp on May 10. Kelly and his staff will get their first look at the quarterback then.
