I struggle with this notion of stock rising and falling.
It happens, scouts are human too.
Is it Barwin's stock that's rising?
Yes. This is a classic case for why a stock would rise.
-- Prior to Spring 2008, Barwin was on scout's notes as a TE, then his profile changed, he was now a DE. 90+% of the scouting on him had to be re-done, and the data wasn't available until the end of the season.
-- So now we have one season's worth of data on film for DE and three seasons film for TE, and four seasons film on Special Teams...and you might be considering projecting him to a new position at OLB (and it's not just 3-4 teams, he's an excellent SLB prospect for a 4-3), which means you also have to focus on his athleticism, adaptability, and intelligence to assess his potential for that change.
-- Next we get to testing, he was expected to test well, but was he expected to test as well as he did? Not from the stories I've read or the comments of punditry covering the draft.
-- Then you also have a kid who is marketing himself well: think about this, he did full drills for a DE, a LB, and a TE/WR, then he does full drills for OL to demonstrate his potential as a blocker. Media observers are talking about Barwin doing multiple drills while his team mates are all gasping for air after doing one set of drills...work ethic √, conditioning √, prepared √, versatile √, √√√√√√
Yep, we're reading about it in the media, and he's getting the hype, but put your Human Resources cap on and view this as a job interview for a multi-million dollar salaried position you need to fill:
- Solid resume, though some of it is for doing a different job than the one you ae looking to fill (film, production)
- Good job fair interview (Senior Bowl)
- Another job far with a surprisingly good follow-up interview (Combine)
- Yet another job fair interview where he does even better and clearly shows that he wants to work for your company (Pro Day)
- You're skeptical because there is a lot of hype building around this kid, but everytime you meet with him in person he wows you...
Late riser? You bet...and it really sucks.