Even though Derek Barnett can boast of being one of the most talented defensive players in his class, he never thought in a million years that he would be a Super Bowl winner in his first NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 14th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, who earned a spot on the 2017 Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team, is a player to watch out for in the years to come as he continues to bolster his impressive career.
Early Life and Education
Barnett, whose full name is Derek AnthonyBarnett, was born to a single mother; Christine Barnett, on June 25, 1996 in Nashville, Tennessee. During his childhood, his mother worked three jobs to put food on the table as her son made a name for himself at the local parks and school for his athletic ability.
Derek Barnett began playing organized soccer in fifth grade, but it wasn’t until he attended Brentwood Academy, a famous Christian college preparatory school in Brentwood, Tennessee, that he began to see a real future as an athlete. In his senior year at the school, Barnett registered a total of 60 tackles and 5.5 sacks to earn a four-star college rating.
Despite interest from a number of colleges, Barnett chose to stay close to home by committing to attend the University of Tennessee. From the start, Barnett’s decision to participate in Tennessee seemed like the right one as he became the first true freshman to play the defensive lineman position to start a season opener. He helped his team to a win in that game, scoring a total of three tackles. By the end of the year, Derek Barnett had started 10 of all 13 games and registered 73 tackles (20.5 for loss) and 10 sacks, the last two stats of which were true refreshing records. He was subsequently named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.
In his sophomore season, Barnett recorded 69 tackles (12.5 for loss) and 10 sacks and was named an All-SEC Second Team. In 2016, when Barnett’s senior collegiate season fell through, he recorded 56 tackles (19 for losses) and 13 sacks. His 33 total college career sacks set a sack record at the University of Tennessee when he was named Consensus All-American and First-Team All-SEC. Subsequently, Barnett announced that he was dropping out of his senior year to submit the draft.
Derek Barnett NFL Career
Before the 2017 NFL draft, many analysts predicted Derek Barnett to be a first-round pick after a decent performance at the NFL Combine and Pro Day in Tennessee, where he ranked among the top five defensive players in his class. On draft day, Barnett was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 14th pick overall, making him the third defensive end of the 2017 NFL draft. He penned a contract worth $12.85 million over four years, which came with a $7.48 million signing bonus.
At training camp, Barnett had to fight for a starting position with other older players. He was named the team’s defensive back when he made his debut in the opener against the Washington Redskins, where he recorded two solo tackles to help his team win. In a sixth game of the week against the Carolina Panthers, Barnett picked up his first career sack on quarterback Cam Newton. The following week, he managed to pick up two sacks for the first time in his professional career. He repeated that feat in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys before scoring his first career touchdown in Week 16 against the Oakland Raiders.
Derek Barnett and the Eagles finished the season with a 13-3 record on the back of 21 tackles (18 solo) and 5 sacks in 15 games to win the NFC East title. In the NFC divisional round, he helped the Eagles edge the Atlanta Falcons before appearing in the NFC championship game with two solo tackles and a strip sack against Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum. The Eagles then went on to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, winning their first Super Bowl with him and Philadelphia.
Height, weight, body stats
The University of Tennessee’s career sack record Halter is 6 feet 3 inches or 1.91 m in height and weighs approximately 259 pounds or 117 kg. Also, as stated on the NFL Combine website, Derek Barnett has an arm length of 3 feet and a hand size of 1 inch.