Philadelphia Eagles: Vinny Curry or Derek Barnett?

Which Philadelphia Eagles defensive end should start opposite of Brandon Graham: Vinny Curry or 2016 first round pick Derek Barnett?

Before the 2016 NFL season kicked off, the Philadelphia Eagles gave their defensive end, Vinny Curry a big contract. A five-year, $47.25 million deal to be exact. It wasn’t the biggest contract given out that offseason, but it was the biggest deal that offseason given to a player who has never started a game in his career. So why did the Eagles give Curry, a player who hasn’t been able to crack the starting lineup, a big contract? Potential.

In his limited snaps, Curry made the most of them getting after the quarterback. He had nine sacks in 2014 and then added three and a half more in 2015. Curry was a master at hurrying the quarterback as well, so the Eagles felt he could be their guy opposite of starting defensive end, Brandon Graham.

Well, in 2016, Curry flopped. I predicted he would end the year with more sacks than Olivier Vernon, and boy was I wrong. The former second-round pick finished the year with 2.5 sacks. And he once again couldn’t even crack the starting lineup.

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The Eagles then got rid of Connor Barwin this offseason, opening the gate for Curry to earn his money. However, the Eagles apparently did not feel as strongly about Curry as they did when they signed him, so they used their first round pick on former Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett.

Barnett was one of the most prolific pass rushers in college football, but many felt Curry would be the starter and Barnett would play in certain situations or packages. The only problem, and it is a great problem for the Eagles, Barnett has played some dominant football throughout the preseason.

So that brings up the big question, who should start at defensive end, Curry or Barnett? You could answer this questions from a couple of angles, but I feel the best angle to look at it is preaching about the future of the organization.

Let’s face it, Curry is good, but he may never be good enough to be the starter. He has been in the NFL for five seasons and is entering his sixth, but still, hasn’t started a game. That says something and holds a lot of weight in my eyes. The biggest knock about starting Barnett over Curry is that the Eagles paid him so much money to not even start again. Yes, that stinks, but sometimes you need to accept your losses and move on. So, that is what the Eagles should do.

Barnett leads the Eagles and the NFL with three sacks this preseason. I know, it is just preseason, but Barnett has flashed greatness on the field. Also, money may be invested in Curry, but a first round pick was spent on Barnett. Just like I preached all last year before Wentz was named the starter, your first round pick needs to be starting Week 1.

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Barnett may not be better than Curry at this point, but the reps he will get by starting will help his progression more than sitting on the bench behind Curry, a guy who has six sacks over the last two seasons. Curry has done a solid job this preseason, but if I were the Eagles; Barnett would start Week 1.