Defensive end Derek Barnett the right choice for Eagles
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles knew at least one of the players they wanted would be available for them when they picked at No. 14.
They just never had an idea it would be defensive end Derek Barnett out of Tennessee.
But that’s exactly what happened after three trades among the first 12 picks — all for quarterbacks — enabled Barnett to fall to them. In addition, two running backs and three wide receivers also went before the Eagles made their pick.
All of which pushed down several top defensive players to the Eagles. That included Alabama defensive end Jonathan Allen. Make no mistake, defensive end was a position of need for the Eagles. But Eagles vice president for player personnel Joe Douglas said he liked Barnett better, and Barnett was the right choice for the Eagles.
Barnett had 32 career sacks at Tennessee, breaking the school record set by none other than former Eagles great Reggie White.
When asked about breaking White's record, then playing for the team in which White was a star, Barnett said: "It’s just very ironic. It’s crazy how everything all plays out ... He probably is the greatest defensive lineman to ever play the game."
That, no doubt, puts pressure on Barnett to succeed. But at 6-3, 259 pounds, Barnett can easily fit in at defensive end opposite Brandon Graham, starting in place of Connor Barwin, whom the Eagles released in March.
Douglas said Barnett reminds him of Ravens rush linebacker Terrell Suggs. Douglas spent 15 years working his way up the Ravens' scouting department. He no doubt had a hand in scouting Suggs.
"Both guys didn’t test outrageously at the Combine or Pro Day setting," Douglas said. "But both are highly-productive players, high toughness, great people. Again, his production is unmatched, breaking a Hall of Fame player’s record at Tennessee."
And in the Eagles’ defense, getting pressure on the quarterback is the most important component of Jim Schwartz’s defense — even more important than cornerback, another position of need for the Eagles.
"I love it," Barnett said of constantly putting pressure on the quarterback. "That’s my style, and I fit it very well."
Yet once Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore went at No. 11 to the New Orleans Saints, the best cornerback left was his teammate Gareon Conley. Perhaps the Eagles would have drafted him, but he was accused earlier this week of sexual assault. Conley hasn’t been charged or questioned by police about the alleged incident. But the possibility might have scared some teams off.
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There didn’t seem to be another cornerback worthy of the No. 14 pick. And at a position considered the deepest in years, it’s conceivable that the Eagles can get a starting-caliber cornerback in the second round, or even the third. Both of those rounds will be held Friday night.
For the Eagles to stay at No. 14, they had to feel comfortable with a player they would get.
“For us, we’ve got to get to 14 players,” Eagles executive vice president for football operations Howie Roseman said last week. “We’ve got to put the first 14 guys on the board and be very comfortable with the 14th guy on our board. That goes for every scenario … At the same time, you gotta be flexible. In the past, we’ve set an amount of what we’d trade for a guy, and if a team asks for a little more, we’re like, ‘No. We’re done.’
The Eagles were obviously comfortable with the possibilities.
Consider that the Eagles, despite having two average-at-best starting cornerbacks last season in Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll, still finished 12th in the NFL in points allowed. That’s not to say the Eagles can just plug in anyone at corner and succeed, especially not in the NFC East where they’ll face Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and even Washington’s Terrelle Pryor twice a year.
But the corners won’t have a chance unless the Eagles can get a pass rush going.
And other than Graham, who had 5.5 sacks last season, the Eagles don’t really have an end who can do that on a consistent basis. They thought Vinny Curry could become that type of pass rusher by signing him to a five-year, $46.3 million contract in March 2016.
Curry, however, was a major disappointment, and couldn’t unseat Barwin, who was clearly on the downside of his career with just 5.0 sacks.
The Eagles also added free agent defensive end Chris Long, who played for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots last season. But Long is 32 years old, and is not expected to be a full-time starter.
Long, however, will be a good mentor for Barnett, much in the same way that Barwin would have been.
And Barnett was better than any choice for the Eagles on offense, especially after the top wide receivers and running backs were taken.
Sure, the Eagles could have taken Florida State running back Dalvin Cook or Alabama tight end O.J. Howard. But Roseman said at the NFL Combine that the draft for running backs this season is “historic” which means they can get a good one in a later round.
And Howard would seem like a luxury for the Eagles considering that they already have Zach Ertz, along with veteran Brent Celek.
Still, it was a stunning turn of events once three teams traded up for quarterbacks who weren’t rated as highly as the quarterback the Eagles traded up to get in Carson Wentz at No. 2 in the draft last year.
“We did not have scenarios that looked like what happened here,” Roseman said after picking Barnett. “But in every scenario, Derek Barnett was a great scenario for us.”
It’s a scenario the Eagles desperately needed.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.