Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett will make the Pro Bowl in 2019 and show fans why he was taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
If there is one player on the Philadelphia Eagles defense that has a ton of pressure to perform and needs to step up the most in the 2019 season, it would be 2017 first-round pick, defensive end Derek Barnett.
Philadelphia took Barnett, the all-time sack leader for the Tennessee Volunteers, with the 14th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Since then, Barnett has only played in 21 games (starting six) and sacked the quarterback seven and a half times and hit him 27 times.
In his two seasons, according to Pro Football Reference, Barnett has played a total of 658 snaps (424 in 2017 and 234 in 2018). That gives him a sack every 88 snaps and a QB hit every 24 snaps he has played. These numbers aren’t terrible, but they also aren’t what you want from your first-round pick.
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Add in that Barnett had a season-ending injury in 2018, along with the Eagles trading defensive end Michael Bennett to the New England Patriots this offseason and making Barnett the clear-cut starter, and you can see why there is pressure to perform.
The big question is whether Barnett, entering his third year in the NFL, will have a breakout year. Good news Eagles fans, he will — and Barnett will be a Pro Bowler because of it.
Everyone knows that Fletcher Cox is the best defensive lineman on that roster (and that won’t change), but the Eagles need a defensive end to step up in a big way.
They haven’t had a legitimate pass rushing threat at defensive end in a very long time. Brandon Graham may be a fan favorite and has made some big plays in his career, but Graham has never had 10 or more sacks in a season. Adding to that, the Eagles have not had a defensive end have 10 or more sacks since the 2011 season when Jason Babin had 18 and Trent Cole had 11. That will all change this year and it will be a reason Barnett makes the Pro Bowl.
Barnett is poised to breakout with his elite pass rushing skills. He has shown he has the ability to use his hands effectively and his strength to get to the quarterback. Barnett is relentless in his effort to get a sack and has many moves he works through to try to get to the quarterback. He can beat you with bend and speed and beat you with a bull rush. Also, when Barnett gets to the quarterback, he is always trying to strip the ball.
However, it isn’t just his pass rushing skills that will get him into the Pro Bowl and have Eagles fans happy about their team selecting him in the first round in 2017. Barnett has shown that he is a problem in the run game as well and takes pride in stopping the run. Look for Barnett to always be around the football making plays and cementing himself as one of the stars on the Eagles defense in 2019.
I predict that Barnett will have 13.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, a bunch of run-stops, and tackles for a loss, which will punch his ticket to the Pro Bowl.