USC quarterback Matt Barkley generally finds himself among the top-three quarterbacks in this year's draft pool, a crop that is much less impressive than the 2012 class.

Risk-reward evaluation

Barkley has a visible history due to USC's high-profile nature, so there is plenty of tape on his pluses and minuses. In the last three seasons, Barkley has completed at least 62.6 percent of his throws. In 2012, as a senior, he finished with 3,273 yards, 36 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions thrown, in what was a down year. His best statistical season came as a junior, when he tossed 39 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and racked up 3,528 aerial yards.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Expected draft placement

While drafting Barkley comes with some risk, and he has drawn comparisons to Matt Leinart, the senior passer is far more mature than Leinart was when he came out of USC. Barkley's arm is stronger than Leinart's, but not by a whole lot. He makes better decisions and is more coachable.

Barkley could come off the board as high as No. 7 to the Arizona Cardinals or No. 8 to the Buffalo Bills. In reality, he probably slides to the Houston Texans at No. 27 or out of the round entirely. It is fair to presume he will be a first-round selection based on the position he plays, although it may take a team making a trade for it to happen.