Getty The Eagles drafted Derek Barnett in the first round (14th overall) in 2017.
Sometimes, football coaches need a laugh. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz recently took an easy question about “high expectations” about one of his players and lobbed a hard jab at one of the team’s beat reporters. It was funny, albeit unnecessary.
Schwartz appeared before the media after Friday’s practice to update everyone on the state of the Eagles’ defense. While most of the questions revolved around his defensive rotation and injury updates, there was one inquiry about the expectations for third-year defensive end Derek Barnett. The coach hilariously fired back by reminding everyone where the Eagles drafted Barnett.
“I don’t know if there’s any higher expectations. We drafted him in the first round,” Schwartz told reporters. “Our expectations are high. He has rewarded us for that. Made a lot of really key plays, particularly down the stretch his rookie year.”
Barnett endured a tough 2018 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and being shut down in October. Despite starting only six games, the 23-year-old pass-rusher still recorded 2.5 sacks and 16 tackles. In his first two NFL seasons, Barnett has tallied 7.5 sacks and 37 combined tackles.
Derek Barnett has a sneaky skill set, bordering on unorthodox. But effective. When you get a QB hit off one of league’s best in first game🏈
To Schwartz’s point, the expectations were indeed high when the team drafted him. Barnett has been a full participant in individual drills (not team drills) during the first two days of Eagles training camp. The team is being cautious with him as he recovers from that last season’s shoulder injury. He still isn’t 100 percent.
“I don’t think expectations have changed. We expect a lot from our all guys. He’s a key component to that,” Schwartz said. “It’s good to have him back, even though he’s limited in what he’s done so far. It’s good to get him back on the field. He’ll be a big contributor this year.”
Barnett is one of the youngest players on the Eagles roster after celebrating his 23rd birthday on June 25.
Join us in wishing Derek Barnett a happy birthday!
Derek Barnett Broke Reggie White’s Sack Record
Barnett was the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and drew immediate comparisons to Eagles great Reggie White since the two both attended the University of Tennessee. In fact, Barnett broke White’s sack record at the school — 33 sacks to White’s 32. After he was drafted, he confided that White’s widow had phoned him after he set the new milestone.
“She gave me a phone call about a week after the bowl game after I broke the record,” Barnett told reporters, via NBC Sports. “She just congratulated me on everything I’ve accomplished. Even though I broke the record, I told her, ‘Reggie’s still Reggie. I don’t think I’m better than Reggie.’ I told her thank you a lot and I really appreciated it.”
While no one on the coaching staff dares make a comparison to White — why jinx the second coming? — there is a sense of excitement in the defensive ends room. Schwartz brought up the strip-sack he had in the 2017 NFC Championship Game, a play that basically set the tone for the 38-7 drubbing. It gave the ball back to the offense and Nick Foles promptly threw a 53-yard touchdown strike.
“I think about the sack strip against Minnesota when they were driving,” Schwartz said. “They had a chance to tie the game at halftime. Instead we strip it, score, we get the ball back quick, and score again, and all of a sudden, the party was on.”
Barnett’s Brother Was Tragically Killed
It hasn’t been an easy road to tow for him, either. His brother, David, was killed by a drunk driver in a two-vehicle car accident in Nashville last year in the middle of the season. He was only 33 years old when he died last December, right before the holidays. Barnett briefly elaborated on dealing with the tragedy Friday after practice.
“When I come here, I come here to work and play football,” Barnett told reporters, via The News Journal. “Personal life and personal issues are my personal issues and personal stuff, just like you (reporters) got some personal issues as well. So when I come here, it should be football and it should be business.”