When I published my top-50 prospects for 2012 last week, it was an easy decision on who went #1 and #2. Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley are franchise quarterbacks in the making and only circumstance or injury will stand in their way.
Poise, accuracy, athleticism and ideal mechanics. Neither has the physical qualities of Cam Newton, Jake Locker or Blaine Gabbert, but they make up for it with high grades in all of the other criteria.
I reviewed Barkley in detail ten days ago (click here) and this is another opportunity to watch him at top of his game. Both quarterbacks competed at a high level when Stanford entertained USC last season, a re-match which will be eagerly anticipated later this year.
If Barkley doesn’t declare for the 2012 draft, we could be looking at the next two #1 overall picks. Should he enter the draft next April, he won’t last long after Andrew Luck is taken first overall. At the moment Luck is a more polished quarterback, but only after making major strides throughout the 2010 season (he was actually a little erratic to start the year). I expect Barkley to make the jump to elite college quarterback in 2011, a scary prospect for the rest of the PAC 12. Even now, there’s very little between the two quarterbacks.
I’ll take either.
The thing that I didn’t like…Richard Sherman #9 (one of the Hawks draft picks) was getting abused and picked on out there.
I might just be a homer (disclaimer: I’ve always been a USC fan), but I actually like Barkley better. The times I see Luck, it seems like he’s throwing behind his receivers a lot and locking on to them early in some cases. Matt seems like he goes through progressions better. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough of Luck to really make a qualified assessment, though. Either way, they’re both wonderful talents and I hope the Seahawks do whatever they can to secure one of them.
Just based on these two highlight tapes, it seems to me that Barkley threw the ball with more accuracy, and he also did a better job of his progressions, finding his 2nd and 3rd option. Luck has amazing poise and confidence, you just know that he is going to move the ball down the field. Not as accurate as Barkley on this day, and he locks in to his #1 target, but a real field general if there ever was one. Both these guys are far superior to any of the QB’s in this year’s draft. So, do we have to lose 14 games this year to land one of them, or can we get away with 13 loses?
Pretty darn good looking. I agree with the impressions above. Also, am I crazy or does Luck have a better arm than Barkley? At times, a lot of times actually, it seems as if Barkley is giving his all on the throws and it is OK but not he’s not really shooting bullets. Luck seems to get a good velocity without forcing it.
I for one pray that we do not have a 1-3 win season. No player can compare to establishing a winning high effort culture. You play the game to win and 55 players beliving that is far more important than any star QB.
Let’s look at where the top five QBs in the NFL were drafted: Tom Brady (round 6); Peyton Manning (round 1, #1); Drew Brees (round 2); Aaron Rodgers (round 1, #24) and Phillip Rivers (round 1, #4). Ideally, the Seahawks can get their Super Bowl QB in lower round 1, or a later round, as 3 of the top 5 were found. Only Manning and Rivers went about where Luck and Barkley will go. I would rather get our franchise QB in round 6, but I will take 14 loses if that’s what it takes to get that QB. Without a franchise QB, we will go 8-8 for the next ten years, no thank you.
I think you’ll be waiting awhile if you’re looking for the next Tom Brady. Expand your list of top QBs and it sways heavily towards high picks. Ryan #3, Vick #1, Roethlisberger #10 (give or take, I don’t remember), there’s some good players found in the 2nd and even the 3rd, but the hawks need to invest heavily in a very good QB.
I felt that Barkley had the stronger arm in the video. Throw velocity and distance were higher. Luck was more accurate, and had a quicker release. Luck also seemed to make better decisions and has better foot speed. Barkley does a good job protecting the ball when he runs. Robert Woods is a frickin stud. Wish he was available next year.
That WR (#13) on USC is incredible. He was a freshman? Good god.
For whatever it’s worth, I thought Matt Barkley was much more impressive in this game than Luck. He made some mistakes, and wasn’t as efficient as Andrew, but he made up for it with throws in tight spots and willingness to stand in the pocket and make something happen.
It seemed Luck made all the “necessary” plays and made some great touch passes down the field in one-on-one coverage, but never hit anything in tight spots that made me go Wow.
Barkley on the other hand, seemed to be a bit more polarizing. He took some chances, nearly got burned on one, but had some huge moments, That TD on the slant in the 1st half was incredible, as was his throw where he planted his feet and hit the slot WR in the middle of the field in front of that safety.
However, I’m sure there are plenty of games that justify why Andrew Luck is being slotted #1 overall next year.
I can def. see why Barkley is a close 2nd though.
I agree Colin, and I would do whatever it takes to get a shot at drafting M. Barkley.