Resume and Accolades
Derrick Brown is one of the more decorated defensive lineman in this year’s draft class in terms of individual awards. His tenure at Auburn coincided with some relatively lean years for the Tigers but Brown shined on and off the field. In his senior year alone, Brown was named a Unanimous All-American, All-SEC First Team, Lott IMPACT Trophy winner, was a finalist for the Outland Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, and to top it off was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
In three years as a starter, Brown racked up 159 tackles, 12 sacks, and a remarkable 32 tackles for loss. As is usually the case for defensive tackles not named Aaron Donald, statistics do not tell the full story. Brown was constantly double-teamed at Auburn which allowed teammates like fellow top prospect Marlon Davidson to put up bigger sack totals.
NFL.com compares Brown to former New York Jet Kris Jenkins who spent 10 years in the NFL and was named to the All-Pro Team three times so if he is that type of player then he is certainly worth a top-15 pick. Others have compared him to Ndamukong Suh who he is closer to in body type but he never matched Suh’s sack production in college.
The questions about Brown are primarily related to his explosiveness and athleticism. He has the brute strength to beat double teams but may not have the athleticism and quickness to be an effective interior pass rusher. Brown’s 28 reps on the combine bench press was 5th best among interior defensive lineman but his 40 and three cone drill times of 5.16 and 8.22 were among the worst.
In these measurables he compares favorably to Suh as well who has managed to make five Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams despite testing poorly in athleticism drills in the combine.
The Athletic’s draft guide lists among his strengths “initial quickness to create immediate knock-back off the snap…impressive range, body control and flexibility for his size to create pursuit plays…welcomes double-teams and torques his body to hold his ground”. As for his weaknesses, they are primarily regarding his efficiency as a pass rusher and learning secondary pass rush moves which he will have the opportunity to do under a great defensive line coach in Rod Marinelli.