NFL Scouting Report: Matt Barkley Will Shine in the NFL

Matt Barkley says "I'm your man" to the Arizona Cardinals.

With the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select, Matt Barkley, Quarterback, USC.

All Matt Leinart jokes aside, the Trojan Matt Barkley will be the fourth consecutive QB to be picked first in the NFL Draft and the 12th in 15 years.  Although there are only three Super Bowl Rings between those 11 QBs before him (all three owned by the Mannings), the recent success of the previous few first pick gunslingers (Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, and Cam Newton) definitely shows that it's well worth the risk for Arizona.
The Cardinals, who finished last season with an average record of 8-8, are in need of a true franchise quarterback.  Kevin Kolb and John Skelton were swapped three times throughout 2011.  Both finished below 2,000 passing yards, 82.0 in QB rating, and only Kolb had more touchdowns than picks(Kolbs 9/8 to Skeltons 11/14).  This is doomed to continue into next year, only adding a third QB in rookie Ryan Lindley to the mix.  With the combination of this gloomy three-headed mess, an aging defense, and a consistently inconsistent running game, Arizona will hit the ground hard next season, only to look up and see their luminary.
At 6'2" and 220lbs., Barkley is a little on the short side for an NFL quarterback, but that hasn't stopped him from having two out of three stellar years at the football factory USC.  From his freshman season to his junior, Barkley has:

Larry Fitzgerald hasn't reached double digit touchdown 

receptions since Kurt Warner retired at the end of the 2009

season. 

• added almost 1,000 passing yards
• increased his completion percentage by 10%
• nearly tripled his passing touchdowns
• halved his interceptions thrown

Matt Barkley Career Stats
Season  CMP  ATT   YDS   CMP%  TDs INTs
2011    308  446  3,528  69.1  39  07
2010    236  377  2,791  62.6  26  12
2009    211  352  2,735  59.9  15  14



Barkley's 2011 season stats look Aaron Rodgers-esque.  His unusually rapid progression should continue, even without the talented Matt Kalil protecting him.  While good college numbers don't always translate into success at the professional level, Barkley will have the necessary tools in him and around him to not just survive, but thrive in the NFL.  The legendary Larry Fitzgerald and newly-acquired Michael Floyd will be yearning for a ball to finally hit them right in the chest.  Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, although he has used veteran QBs for all of his five years with the team, could use a witty young gunslinger with an accurate and strong arm to turn things around.

I know it's nearly a year away.  Arizona may not even have the first pick in the draft.  Barkley could get injured his senior year.  Many possible events could throw this off.  This is simply what I believe to be a very educated guess as to what could happen.  The Cardinals find their hero, and Fitzy could be fitting himself for a long-awaited, well-deserved ring in 2014.