The Philadelphia Eagles selected former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley to kick off round four of the 2013 NFL Draft. Immediately, there were some fans and analysts claiming Barkley would not have what it takes to succeed in Eagles head coach Chip Kelly’s up tempo offense. The misconception is that you need to be a mobile, athletic quarterback to run Kelly’s offense, but that is not the case.
Barkley has exactly what you need to have success in the new offense and that is intelligence and accuracy.
Kelly said during the offseason that he is not concerned about how fast or mobile a quarterback is. He wants a signal-caller that can make the quick reads and get the ball out before defenses can react. For Barkley that is his strength. His high football IQ sets him up with a brilliant opportunity to succeed under Chip Kelly, who is familiar with the former USC star because of their time as opponents in the Pac-12.
Out of all of the quarterbacks in the 2013 draft class, few speculated that Barkley would be Kelly’s guy. However, Kelly is an out of the box thinker and he knows what he is looking for at the position.
It will be interesting to see how quickly Barkley can catch on to the Eagles new offense and whether he will challenge Michael Vick for the starting job in the next year or two.
As for Nick Foles, expect the Eagles to be working the phones and find a trade partner that will take him off of their hands .
What do you think? Will Barkley succeed under Chip Kelly? Sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts.