Barton is moving up in the NFL draft

Ohio State tackle Kirk Barton is moving up in the eyes of the NFL scouts because he is moving fast on the ground. Barton has occupied the right tackle spot since he started in the last seven games of the 2005 season. His performance at the combine impressed scouts but his numbers at the OSU pro day blew them away. At 6-5 305 he ran a 4.95 40 yard dash. That was faster than any offensive lineman at the Combine. He bench pressed the standard 225 pound dumbbell 34 times which is among the top 10 of all linemen in the draft. The 225 is considered an excellent way to judge a players strength.

Before the combine, Barton was expected by most scouts to be a mid-7th round choice. Now, one of the most conservative and respected draft sites, NFLDraftScout.com, has Barton going in the 4th round. In short, he made around $250,000 (the difference between a 4th and 7th round first year salary) in less than 5 seconds. Not bad pay. But like the doctor that charges $300 for a 10 minute visit, the amount is based on the work he did leading up to the run, not the 5 seconds alone. Other sites have him going as early as the late 3rd round (choice 99-100).

Barton is road grader in the run game. He finishes blocks and often goes on to block a linebacker or corner back after bowling over the defensive end across from him at the snap. He has very good to excellent upper body strength and enough “junk in the trunk” to drive block even the most stout defensive lineman. He is very effective at pulling around the end to block down field, although like most young NFL players, he sometimes runs a long way just to miss the block. Accuracy in blocking down field is an area he will work on at the next level.

The thing that keeps him from being a 2nd round choice is his pass blocking. While he handles a bull rush with ease, he struggles with very quick pass rushers. Part of that results from Barton not being a natural knee bender. He has the hips and knees to be better in this area and will need to work on it. He also needs to use his quickness and speed better in pass protection against speed rushers.

Because most NFL offensive systems run more to the right than the left, the primary function of the RT is to run block first and pass block second. Kirk Barton is good enough at both to start for a number of teams at the RT spot now. He should have a long and successful career in the NFL and we all wish him luck in the future.

by Bill Smith
BigTen-fans.com Guest Writer

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com and has published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm