Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Derek Barnett a good pick for Eagles in terms of both talent and need | Paul Domowitch

Tennessee product says he will work hard to earn his keep with the Eagles.

FOOTBALL PLAYERS have feelings, too. When Derek Barnett got the phone notification from the Eagles last night just before his name was officially announced to the Parkway crowd by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, he prayed he wouldn't get booed. He didn't want to start his career off here with jeers.

Barnett got his wish. No boos. But the cheers were measured. The in-house reaction can best be described as slightly better than lukewarm.

The social media reaction was more negative, as social media reactions tend to be.

"Another Brandon Graham. Not excited about this pick," tweeted @phillybensing.

"4.88, woof," tweeted @Ketterer, referring to Barnett's 40-yard dash time at the scouting combine in February.

"Slow unathletic ends don't last," tweeted @camashta4.

"Howie already making stuff up," @winmanpa tweeted.

"I see a lot of Dallas running plays directed right at his 265-pound body," John McCartin wrote on Facebook. "Hopefully not Mike Mamula 2.0."

"What a waste," Michael Finegan wrote on Facebook. "All those players and Howie (Roseman) picks this guy. I wish Lurie would sell and take Howie with him."

Click here for more coverage of the 2017 NFL draft in Philadelphia. Our live blog will have updates for rounds four through seven.

The skepticism is understandable. The Eagles haven't hit a lot of draft bull's-eyes lately when it's come to picking edge rushers. Vinny Curry (second round, 2012), has a $46 million contract, but just 19 sacks in five years and only 2.5 last year.

Marcus Smith (first round, 2014) has played just 412 defensive snaps in three seasons. Graham (first round, 2010) hasn't had more than 6.5 sacks in any of his seven NFL seasons.

I won't even bother getting into the gory details of the selections of Daniel Te'o Nesheim (third round, 2010), Bryan Smith (third round, 2008), Victor Abiamiri (second round, 2007) and Jerome McDougle (first round, 2003).

All that said, I think taking Barnett at 14 was a very good move, both from a talent and need standpoint.

Part of the reason many fans weren't excited about the pick seemed to be the fact that defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and safety Malik Hooker, who both were expected go in the top 10, unexpectedly fell to the Eagles. Hooker ended up going a pick later to the Colts. Allen went 17th to the Redskins.

But the 22-year-old Allen was diagnosed with arthritis in both shoulders. It's not a problem yet, but there's a good chance the condition will shorten his NFL shelf life.

Hooker was the best centerfield safety in the draft. But scouts had reservations about his tackling ability and the durability of his 6-1, 206-pound frame.

Many fans wanted the Eagles to take a cornerback in the first round. But once the Saints took Marshon Lattimore at No. 11, the only corner on most boards with a comparable grade to Barnett's was Gareon Conley, who became toxic earlier this week when a woman accused him of rape.

Four more would go in the first round - Marlon Humphrey to the Ravens at 16, Adoree Jackson to the Titans at 18, Conley to the Raiders at 24 and Tre'Davious White to the Bills at 27.

The Eagles took a corner Friday night in the second round, selecting Sidney Jones, who is recovering from an Achilles' injury, with the 43rd pick.

Barnett isn't a twitchy athletic freak like fellow SEC defensive end Myles Garrett, who was the first player taken in the draft, by Cleveland. Can't run as fast as Garrett, can't jump as high, can't lift as much weight.

He's an "effort" guy, which isn't sexy. But he turned that effort into impressive production at Tennessee. Broke Reggie White's sack record in Knoxville with 33 sacks, including 28 against SEC opponents. By comparison, just 12 of Garrett's 32.5 sacks came against SEC teams.

"When you see a guy that shows up in big games and big moments, I mean, heck, that's what I saw last year in Carson (Wentz)," said Joe Douglas, Eagles vice president of player personnel. "A guy that showed up in big games and big moments like a national championship game.

"To see a guy that plays in the best conference in all of college football show up week in and week out and be as consistent as he was, that's a big factor."

Said Barnett: "I think my get-off is pretty good. I prepare hard mentally for games. A lot of people don't see that, but you have to prepare for a game so you can go in and dominate."

When Barnett broke White's sack record in late December in his final college game, he got a congratulatory phone call from Reggie's widow, Sara White.

"It meant a lot to get a call from her," he said. "She congratulated me on everything I accomplished.

"Even though I broke his record, I told her Reggie is still Reggie. I don't think (that means) I'm better than Reggie."

Barnett said that when he first got to Tennessee, he used to watch tape of White and try to pick up some pass-rushing tips.

"I was trying to put his 'hump' move in my game," he said. "But as a pass rusher, I feel like everybody's got their own moves. I think that move was for him, but probably not for me."

Now, Barnett is getting ready to start his NFL career with the same team White spent eight of his 15 NFL seasons, in the same place he notched 124 of his 198 NFL sacks.

It was one of the greatest moments of his life Thursday when he got the phone call from the Eagles and walked down the Art Museum steps for his mandatory hug from Goodell.

It will get him a hefty rookie contract that will allow him to do a lot of nice things for a mother that often worked three jobs to support him. But it's up to him to maximize the opportunity. It's up to him to prove to the skeptics that the Eagles were smart to take him with the 14th pick.

"My mom always taught me to be humble, keep my head down and just work," Barnett said.

"I'm going to learn my role first and get around these vets and learn what I've got to do to get on the field. Me being a first-round pick doesn't mean anything. It doesn't guarantee me a spot. I still have to come in and work and earn respect."

pdomo@aol.com

@Pdomo Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog