2013 NFL Draft: First Round Ends, Matt Barkley and Robert Woods Not Drafted

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The first round of the 2013 NFL Draft is over, and for the third time since 2003 and the first since 2010, the USC Trojans were shutout of the first round. Here’s some quick hits on how the round went down at Troy.

Matt Barkley and Geno Smith kept out of the 1st Round:

• The first and only quarterback of the first round was taken 16th overall by Buffalo. While the Bills had flirted with both Barkley and Ryan Nassib, they made the biggest surprise of the first round, taking Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel. The result was a disheveled Smith and an intensified draft battle for Barkley that now sees him directly competing with Geno Smith for the first pick of the second round, which belongs to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags hold a ton of power, as they now have a night to sleep on whether or not they’ll draft Smith, Barkley or Nassib, or perhaps shop that pick to a team that will. Keep in mind, that Manti Te’o is available too. Decisions, decisions.

Robert Woods Passed up by Minnesota Vikings:

• Going into the draft, Woods was projected as a late first or early second round pick, with rumors heating up on Thursday afternoon that the Vikings were going to make a serious run at Woods. Sherrif Floyd, who was expected to go in the top five, fell all the way down to Minnesota at No. 23, which pushed them out of taking a wide receiver at No. 25, where they took Xavier Rhodes. Then, while the New England Patriots were slotted to pick at No. 29, the Vikings re-entered the fray to take Cordarrelle Patterson in exchange for four draft picks, over Te’o and Woods.

Former USC LB Jarvis Jones gets drafted at No. 17 by the Pittsburgh Steelers:

• Jones left USC in 2010 after doctors wouldn’t clear him of a back injury, leading him back to the south, where he back a superstar at Georgia. Despite those back issues rearing their head at the NFL Combine in February, Jones was taken by the Steelers, where he could take over in lieu of James Harrison, who signed a free agent deal this week with Cincinnati.