Inside The Bills

Kiper on type of team Barkley would fit

ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper on a national conference call was asked about where USC QB Matt Barkley could come off the board and where he might fit best. In Kiper’s opinion Buffalo is not a fit.

“Unfortunately he didn’t finish the process healthy with a shoulder (injury). He’s not going to be physically imposing with the measurements and the numbers. He’s not the type of kid that’s going to wow you over in a workout anyway. So you go back and look at him and evaluate him,” Kiper said. ”He’s a pure passer, an accurate passer. He doesn’t have a great arm, but has good enough arm strength in the right situation, which wouldn’t be Buffalo. It certainly wouldn’t be a cold weather environment. It’d be a warmer weather environment or dome environment. It certainly would need to be a case where you have to protect him with a good offensive line.”

Kiper currently sees Barkley as a second round pick, but would not be surprised if a team traded back into the bottom of the first round to take him especially if he has a good pro day workout.

Despite a report last week that Barkley intended to do all drills at the Combine, Kiper indicated that Barkley would not be throwing in Indianapolis next week. 

“If he has a good pro day, evidently he’s not throwing at the combine, somebody could jump back into that late first and grab him,” said Kiper.