Derrick Brown drafted by Carolina Panthers. Here are five things to know about the Auburn star.
Derrick Brown was the first Auburn Tiger to hear his name called Thursday night, when the Carolina Panthers drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The 6-5, 326 pound senior was a force on Auburn’s defense last year, winning the 2019 Lott IMPACT Trophy, which goes to the defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT (Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity).
Brown also garnered first-team AP All-American and first-team All-SEC honors, and was a finalist for the Bednarik Award and Outland Trophy after posting 55 tackles, tying for the team lead with 12.5 tackles for loss and collecting four sacks.
Here are five things to know about him:
1. He’s Auburn’s first, first-rounder in quite a while
Brown on Thursday became the first Tiger to be drafted in the first round since Greg Robinson and Dee Ford in 2014.
2. He returned for his senior season despite being a projected first-rounder last year
Fans didn’t expect to see Derrick Brown suit up for the Tigers last fall.
Many expected him to declare for the NFL Draft after the 2018 season. After all, the defensive tackle and three-year starter racked up 115 career tackles (21 for loss) and nine sacks across 40 games.
“I thought about (coming back) for a while,” Brown said at SEC Media Days in July 2019. “I was excited to go see my son after the bowl game. That was the biggest thing for me. … (My decision) took a few days.”
Brown said he spoke with head coach Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, then ultimately decided to turn down the NFL for one more season at Auburn.
The reasons, Brown said, had to do with family (specifically his seven-month-old son), and that it was more important to him to finish his degree. That after the fame of football passes by, he’ll still have a degree to fall back on.
“I believe that athletes have more of a platform than what people give them credit for,” Brown said. “Some people say, ‘it’s just football players,’ this and that, well, I know a lot more than the average guy and I’m here to show that. … We (student athletes) can do more.”
3. He watched the Prayer at Jordan-Hare from the sideline
Derrick Brown stood and watched from behind the end zone nearest Auburn’s student section as the Tigers offense took the field. The Tigers trailed Georgia 38-37 after a furious rally from the Bulldogs that saw the visiting team erase a 27-7 deficit. The Tigers faced fourth-and-18 with around 30 seconds left. You know what happened next.
Then-quarterback Nick Marshall stepped up into the pocket and launched a prayer of a throw to Ricardo Louis, who ran a deep post route and found himself in double coverage. Marshall arguably made the wrong throw — the senior had sophomore receiver Sammie Coates streaking wide open near midfield. Two Georgia safeties jumped for the interception and tipped it right into the path of Louis, who scored the game-winner with 25 seconds left. A “miracle at Jordan-Hare,” the late Rod Bramblett exclaimed on the Auburn IMG radio broadcast.
“That was my first-ever visit,” Brown said on Nov. 15, before the Georgia game. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”
4. One analyst pegs him as the ‘most underrated player in the entire draft’
Some of the knocks on Brown entering the draft were his sack numbers (4) and NFL Combine times -- Brown ran a 5.16 unofficial 40-yard dash, and an 8.22 three cone drill.
But NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay thinks otherwise.
“I would say (Brown) is the most underrated player in the entire draft,” McShay told Mel Kiper Jr. on ESPN’s First Draft Podcast. “Everyone is talking about (Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah). Everyone is talking about (Ohio State defensive end) Chase Young. Everyone is talking about all of these quarterbacks. But Derrick Brown is one of the two or three most talented players in the entire 2020 class.”
McShay, who was revealed to be battling COVID-19 during ESPN’s Draft coverage Thursday night, also said that he considers Brown the No. 1 defensive tackle in the draft.
5. He’s a former five-star, and his Auburn career shows it
Brown was a five-star defensive tackle from Lanier High (Sugar Hill, Ga.) in the Class of 2016. He was the No. 9 player overall according to 247 Sports that year as Auburn hauled in the No. 9 recruiting class nationally.
He was dominant in high school, and that didn’t change at Auburn.
In four years on the Plains, Brown had 33 tackles for loss, 170 total tackles and 12.5 sacks. He’ll leave Auburn as one of the most decorated players in program history, and looks to have a bright future ahead at the next level.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 9:11 PM.
