"We were going to take the best player available at that position, at No. 7, whether it be a tackle, pass rusher, corner, or quarterback," Arians said on Fox radio before narrowing the field even more. "Right now I don't see a quarterback in this class coming up that would have been in that spot for us. Now, it might be for somebody else, but not for us. Especially with the elite offensive linemen that are out there this year, and defensive linemen."
Arians knows a thing or two about quarterbacks after stretches of coaching Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck in his career.
An AFC general manager was likewise blunt: "If either Smith or Barkley were that good, you wouldn't see the trades you're seeing right now. [Alex] Smith? [Carson] Palmer? [Matt] Flynn? That tells you what you need to know. If Kansas City thought there was a great quarterback in this draft, or even a really good one like Matt Stafford, they wouldn't have traded for [Alex] Smith."
"I could see both of those guys going in the first round," an NFC executive said of Geno Smith and Barkley, echoing remarks made by many scouts, coaches and fellow executives. "But neither of those guys makes you think you're getting a slam-dunk, no-doubt guy
you're not talking about [Andrew] Luck and [Robert] Griffin."
