- BEST IN STATE -

Duke football’s Graham Barton named Best In State MVP offensive lineman

Offensive tackle has first-round NFL draft potential

Eric Lusk

Published

August 17, 2023

Graham Barton of the Duke Blue Devils gets set during the Blue Devils' game against Virginia Tech in 2022. (Photo by David Jensen/Icon Sportswire).

It didn’t take much for Graham Barton to figure out where he wanted to play college football.

A visit to Duke University’s campus sealed the deal quickly for the Brentwood, Tenn., product.

“I came on a visit here, met the coaches and commits in my class and just fell in love,” Barton told PFF.com in an interview published earlier this summer. “I love being here, I love being a part of this university, this football program. I came here on a weekend visit and committed on [the following] Monday. That was all it took.”

Duke fans certainly should reciprocate that love.

Barton, now a senior, has emerged as one of the top linemen in the ACC – and in the nation. He enters 2023 as a preseason All-American by publications like Athlon Sports, Lindys and Phil Steele College Football. ACC media voted his preseason All-ACC.

Barton also collects one of NC Football News’ top preseason honors, being named our Most Valuable FBS Offensive Lineman. His Duke teammate DeWayne Carter was named our preseason Most Valuable FBS Defensive Lineman earlier this week.

While it is tougher to quantify an offensive lineman’s contribution to a team compared with a quarterback, running back or receiver, the 6-5, 314-pound left tackle received an exceptional lineman grade from PFF (Pro Football Focus) this past season – a score of 88.2. That number ranks fifth-best nationally among offensive tackles.

Barton, PFF notes, is the only Power 5 tackle to earn 85.0 grades as a pass blocker and run blocker. He also was the top Power 5 tackle last season in “Big Time” blocks, recording 17.

PFF considers Barton a potential first-round NFL pick. NFLDraftBuzz.com had this to say about Barton during a review of his pro prospects:

“Barton consistently plays beyond the whistle. He has good enough feet to hold his own in pass protection, particularly when factoring in his effort. Fires out of his stance with a good pad level, consistently winning at the point of attack. In the run game, Barton explodes off the line of scrimmage and consistently gets out to the second level to do damage.”

Barton made major contributions to the stat that mattered the most a year ago, helping Duke win a surprising nine games against low expectations. Duke had only won a handful games in his first two seasons combined.

“We have a phenomenal coaching staff and locker room now,” he said in the PFF interview. “We built that through the winter, spring and summer. We built a gritty, underdog, chip-on-the-shoulder culture that carried us through the year. When things got hard during the season, everyone rose to the occasion. Being here for the darker days, winning three games a year, it was so awesome to see all that culminate in a nine-win season. The sky’s the limit for us in Year 2.”