Joseph Barksdale

Joseph Barksdale

College:  LSU

Age:  22 years old

Experience: Senior (4 years)

Starts at LT:  13 games

Starts at RT:  26 games

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Height:  6 feet 5 inches

Weight:  325 lbs.

Arm Length:  36 inches

Hand Width:  10 inches

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Projection:  Right Tackle

Projected Round:  3rd – 5th round

Combine Results (Pro Day Results)

40 Yard Dash:  5.38 seconds

3-Cone Drill:  8.27 seconds

20-Yard Shuttle:  4.75 seconds

Bench Press:  29 reps

Vertical Jump:  29.0 inches

Broad Jump:  103 inches

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Overview

Speed: With a 40 time near 5.4 seconds, Barksdale ended up having one of the slowest times of the offensive linemen on our Combine watch list. Having a slow 40 yard dash isn’t such a detriment for linemen, but it is a knock on Barksdale that will continue to drop his draft stock lower. After being mocked as high as 19th overall by Bleacher Report, closer looks at Barksdale have dropped him to a third, then fourth, and now even a sixth round prospects on some boards. Posting a solid 40 time at his Pro-Day will be key to stabilizing his draft stock, especially as scouts continue to question his ability to keep up with speed rushers in the NFL.

Agility: Like his 40 time, Barksdale posted a very disappointing time in the 3-cone drill, which is one of the best testing methods of overall agility for any position. Such a slow time indicates that despite being considered, “Good enough,” to keep up with defensive ends, he will likely struggle against ends that rely on speed and agility.  As the 3-cone drill is more indicitive of a players overall agility, it will be interesting to see how his fairly good short shuttle time eases some of these concerns.  What it signals currently is that Barksdale is good at cutting back and regaining speed, but has difficulty changing directions on the run.

Experience: Barksdale spent his freshman year as the backup right tackle before taking over as the primary RT in his sophomore and junior years.  He was converted to left tackle as a senior, and as the only senior on the line he was the de facto leader. LSU did not achieve major national success, which did not bring Barksdale a lot of exposure, but he played well enough to be invited to the East-West Shrine Game.

Size/Build: The single greatest asset Barksdale possesses is his ideal combination of height, weight and natural strength. At 6’5 he is tall enough to support a bulk of 325 lbs while not giving up too much leverage to small edge rushers. At 325 lbs. Barksdale is difficult to move with a head-on attack, and routinely gets high marks in that area. He has vision enough to pick up LB blitzes and stop them in their tracks, and has enough strength to dominate in a straight up match. That said, he doesn’t have world changing strength, and he relies on his natural ability more than he should. He doesn’t have a nasty streak to dominate against similar strength defenders, but with his size, the number of defenders who can match his natural strength aren’t overly abundant.

Pass Blocking: Described as a “sufficient” pass blocker, Barksdale may simply be limited to a backup role at RT. He can push around smaller defensive ends and linebackers, but gets turned too easily to be relied upon to protect Manning’s blindside on an every play basis. He simply lacks the agility and quickness to keep up with agile defensive ends like Mario Williams that he would face every year. 

Run Blocking: While Barksdale has strength, he hasn’t developed it or supplemented it to really set himself apart from any other OT in the draft. He can hold his own against defenders, but shouldn’t be expected to blow off the line and demolish defenders to open up running lanes. While a move inside to guard is possible, he isn’t quick enough to face 3-tech DTs consistently. An elite 3-tech can beat him off the snap and match his strength well enough to turn him into a bystander on running plays. 

Health: Another one of Barksdale’s upsides is his durability. After taking over as a starter in his sophomore year he played 25 consecutive games at RT while only missing a handful of snaps. He played every snap for nearly every game as a senior as well, and has no serious medical concerns at the moment, nor any in his recent history to raise any flags.

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OVERVIEW: Barksdale does not impress as a serious option for the Colts. His strengths and weaknesses read like the 2010 version of Ryan Diem, and the concerns about his ability to face 3-tech DTs is also concerning. For the amount of experience he has, he would have to really show something for him to be worth more than a 6th round pick for the Colts. The slow 40 and 3-cone drill times don’t help his case either, and with the problems at offensive tackle already being caused by not being quick enough to stay with fast DEs, taking someone who struggled against college DEs on a regular basis isn’t going to inspire confidence. Things may change after his Pro-Day and more news comes out on how he interviewed, but for right now, he is looking like a very late round prospect for the Colts.