http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/b...steal-the-show
LOS ANGELES -- For Matt Barkley, who surprised many with his decision to spurn the NFL and return to Southern Cal for his senior season in 2012, Wednesday's Pro Day was an acceptable culmination for his college career.
Displaying the accuracy in drills showed during 47 career starts with the Trojans, Barkley solidified his first round stock with a strong workout in front of an estimated 60 NFL scouts and coaches.
They included a strong contingent from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets, who each may be looking for a quarterback in the 2013 draft.
"Barkley had an outstanding career [at USC], making all the plays you needed to see to know that he can be successful at our level," Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator Norv Turner said following the workout.
"He just confirmed today what anyone who had watched the tape already knew. He's a gifted young player who would be a tremendous addition to any organization."
Barkley completed his passes to fellow 2013 hopefuls Robert Woods and running back Curtis McNeal, as well as former USC wideout Travon Patterson and tight end Dominique Byrd.
Only five of the 60-plus passes Barkley threw hit the ground, with two of those being perfectly thrown passes which slipped through the fingers of Woods and Byrd, respectively.
"I was impressed by the number of passes [Barkley] threw today," said St. Louis general manager Les Snead. "Since he was injured to end his career, this was his recital. It was an overall very good day for him."
Snead was one of three general managers on hand. Chicago's Phil Emery and Jacksonville's David Caldwell also attended.
Caldwell was one of several representatives from the Jaguars, including senior vice president Tony Khan, head coach Gus Bradley and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch.
While Jacksonville sent a large contingent to the workout, only one scout was on hand for the Arizona Cardinals. The Buffalo Bills, an organization that has been quite transparent in its plans to draft a quarterback, were conspicuous in their apparent absence from the workout.
Although they rate well below what is ascertained in game films, Pro Day workouts do have value. Unlike during a game in which there are multiple moving parts which can distract the eye, scouts are allowed to stand on the sideline and simply focus on the quarterback's throwing motion, gauge his velocity and read the expression on his face from snap to snap.
Putting Barkley's workout in perspective is critical to understanding what impact it might have on his landing spot on draft day. Scouts are as split on the quarterback rankings this year as any in the past 10 years. As such, Barkley's strong effort could lead to a significant jump up draft boards.
Barkley wasn't dynamic. Several of his deeper passes wobbled and he forced wideouts to adjust their routes a few times on in-breaking routes. However, the first part of his passing workout was into a slight wind.
He was very impressive during the "quick game" so critical to the West Coast offense, demonstrating the efficient set-up and delivery and impressive accuracy when rolling out. He was particularly accurate on the wheel and corner routes, two passes considered among the more difficult throws critical to this attack.
Barkley's workout wasn't as good as the one Andrew Luck had a year ago in Palo Alto, some of which was into a stiff breeze. He didn't show the elite combination of velocity and ball placement that Sam Bradford demonstrated inside the Oklahoma practice bubble in 2010.
The Southern Cal passer, however, carried out quarterback guru Chris Weinke's scripted session with efficiency and impressive accuracy, overall. The workout was comparable to recent sessions by Jake Locker and Mark Sanchez, each of whom rode their showings to top-eight selections in their respective draft classes.
Barkley's passing was the critical element to his day but he also boosted his cause by clocking between 4.92 and 4.97-seconds in the 40-yard dash at a solid 230 pounds. The 40-yard dash was the only measured drill Barkley participated in.
That wasn't the case for his primary target, Woods, who shaved nearly a tenth-of-a-second off the 4.47-second 20-yard shuttle drill he'd run at the combine with a time of 4.38 seconds. He was even better in the three-cone drill, where he was timed as fast as 6.84 seconds after being clocked at a disappointing 7.15 seconds in the drill in Indianapolis.
As impressive as Woods was in timed drills, he was even better during the positional drills, exploding out of his breaks and catching nearly every pass thrown to him, including a dazzling one-handed catch deep down the right sideline.
Woods' one drop came on a deep post on Barkley's final throw against the wind in which the receiver simply lost his concentration.
While the hype centered around the "skill position" players Wednesday, the big winner may have been safety, T.J. McDonald,
who drew praise from Kansas City Chiefs' scout and defensive backs' coach Drae Harris, who, along with Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive backs coach Carnell Lake, put USC's cornerbacks and safety through extended drills.
"[McDonald] is an explosive athlete who is quickly able to take what we were asking him to do and apply it to the field. He's so explosive out of his cuts and covers such ground."
McDonald, who measured in at 6-3, 213 pounds, led each of the defensive back drills. He caught every pass thrown to him, consistently using his height to his advantage by extending far beyond his frame to secure the ball.
Reserve safety Drew McAllister also helped his cause with a strong effort during positional drills, showing similar ball skills as his more well-known former teammate.
This wasn't the case for cornerback Nickell Robey, however, who dropped several potential "interceptions" in drills. Robey wowed scouts with a 40.5-inch vertical jump Wednesday morning but he didn't use his explosiveness when it mattered most, often leaping as the ball arrived only to catch the ball at chest-level or lower.
It was a similarly disappointing day for USC center Khaled Holmes, who cited a strained pectoral at the combine as the reason why he was unable to lift Wednesday.
Holmes characterized the injury as "not serious" but said he had no plans at this time to lift for scouts before the draft. He did say that he had a number of private workouts lined up in the coming weeks, including a workout on campus Friday with the Philadelphia Eagles.