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Colts 2023 Draft Interviews: Zaire Barnes, LB, Western Michigan

Meet Western Michigan LB Zaire Barnes. We talked about his background in leadership, his versatility as a linebacker, and what he could bring to special teams from day one.
Zach Hicks|
Colts 2023 Draft Interviews: Zaire Barnes, LB, Western Michigan
Colts 2023 Draft Interviews: Zaire Barnes, LB, Western Michigan

Zaire Barnes is a former three star recruit that chose to attend Western Michigan over an offer from Cincinnati out of high school. Barnes had to work his way up the depth chart in college, as he started just four out of his first 24 games in college from 2018 to 2019.

He tore his ACL heading into the 2020 season, but he was able to bounce back in 2021. He started at linebacker for the team and was able to tally 68 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 13 games played.

He followed up that strong 2021 campaign with an even better final season in 2022. He finished with a team-high 93 tackles this past season, while also logging 4.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, nine pass deflections, and an interception.

While Barnes is an impressive player on the field, he may be an even more impressive person off of it. He has worked with an organization called Uplifting Athletes since 2018, which is a sports-led initiative to invest in the study of rare diseases.

I asked Barnes about his work with Uplifting Athletes in college:

Uplifting Athletes is basically a rare disease foundation that focuses on raising money through the platforms that athletes have. They do this with all colleges, honestly. The honor of being a chapter leader gets passed down to the younger guys, so it was passed down to me during my sophomore year.
I've traveled to different states to go to conferences with the foundation. It is just a great message and our team supported it, so we would plan events like touchdown pledge drives and reps for rare diseases in the offseason. All of the money goes to the study of rare diseases and people could donate based off of the goal that we set. 

Stepping back onto the football field, Barnes is the type of player that consistently improved throughout college. Even when he tore his ACL in 2020, he was still able to bounce back as a starter for his final two years in college.

I asked Barnes what was key for him in consistently improving each year in college:

It was honestly all about putting the work in during the offseason and being surrounded by guys that were all trying to do the same. Every day that I went out on the field, I would tell myself that I would leave it all on the field. Once I kept stacking those good days in the offseason, the first game would come and my confidence would be through the roof.
I could feel confident that I put the work in and that there were no days skipped. Once I was able to set that habit and see the outcome, it was pretty cool to see where it could take me. I had so much more motivation towards it all after the 2020 season when I tore my ACL.
After that, I just had a different outlook on the game. I never took another rep, or another step, or another day in the stadium for granted ever again after that. That motivation, and those good habits, helped me always take good steps forward every season.

Defensive Versatility

Barnes may have been listed as a linebacker at Western Michigan, but he did a lot more for that defense than just play linebacker. He logged snaps over his career at edge rusher, off ball linebacker, and he would even drift back as the deep safety on some calls.

I asked him about his versatility and how Western Michigan liked to use his skill set on defense the past few seasons:

I definitely take pride in being a versatile player. That is something that I wanted to carry on and show that I can be versatile. You can throw me in the open field to cover. You can put me on the edge rush. You can put me on complex stunts with the defensive linemen. You can even have me roll to the post if you need me to.
I take pride in being that player and I practice all of those skills in the offseason to be that kind of player. I feel like the team also just trusted it me. It started my freshman year when I was able to get on special teams to show how bad I wanted to be on the football field. They saw how much I cared about special teams at a young age and that led to them trusting me a lot early on.
You have to walk in there and earn your stripes, just like how it was in high school. They saw that I cared about the team and they put me on the leadership council. They instilled a lot of confidence in me with that decision, and that confidence spilled over to the field with my game. They had that trust in me to do so many different things for the team, and I didn't want to ruin that for them.

Special Teams Ability

The path to making an NFL team certainly isn't easy. One way that players taken on day three (or signed in the UDFA period) can make their mark is on special teams. Barnes, luckily, is already one of the better special teamers in this draft class.

He has over 500 special teams snaps under his belt already in his career in college. I asked Barnes about his ability and his willingness to play special teams from day one:

A lot of my conversations pre-draft have been about special teams. Most teams want to see if my outlook on special teams is good. It is funny that they even ask, because I love playing special teams. I had a mentor during my freshman year that came and talked in front of the team. He broke it down and talked about why he loved special teams.
After that conversation, it just stuck with me. I even preach it to the young guys now and say that special teams helped me get even better as a defender. I ask teams about how I can stay in the league and have longevity, they all tell me that I have to be a special teams player.
It is a big factor, especially being in those late rounds. I definitely care about it a lot and teams have shown a lot of interest in me playing special teams.

While Barnes is a linebacker as his primary position, there is always a real possibility that his career amounts to being a lifetime special teams player.

I asked him if he would be comfortable/happy if ten years from now he was still in the league as primarily a special teams player:

I really would. I, personally, understand that it is going to take work and teams are paying these guys millions of dollars to play in defensive schemes. I know that I'm coming in as a rookie and that I have to earn my stripes. I really have no issue doing that at all in the league.
I truly just love the game. For me, just being able to step on the field in any role is going to feel the same as being a starter. The love of the game takes it further than wanting to be a starter. Of course I want to start and that is the main goal, but I understand my role and will do whatever is needed of me.

Impact in the NFL

I ended this interview the same way I end all of them. I asked Barnes about what type of player and person an NFL team is getting if they spend a draft pick on him in this class:

Off of the field, you are getting a guy that wants to be in the building and wants to be the epitome of a pro athlete. I'm a guy that knows when to be a leader, but also knows when to fall back and be a great follower. I'm somebody that is going to be a great teammate and somebody that you want in that locker room.
On the field, you are going to get a very versatile player. I'll be able to cover in space, play in the box, and even work off of the edge. I'm a very versatile player and somebody that is going to run hard to the ball and give effort on every play.
I'm also going to try to be a mentor to guys, if I am fortunate enough to be in the position to speak to younger guys. I also want to be on special teams. I'm not somebody that is just going to be put on special teams, I want to be there and take pride in making plays on there.

Zaire Barnes is a high energy, athletic linebacker that already carries himself like an NFL player. His profile (from leadership to ability) is strikingly similar to Zaire Franklin's from years ago.

Franklin was a seventh round steal for the Indianapolis Colts back in 2018 and I firmly believe that Barnes could be the next iteration of that type of player in 2023.

Learn more about Zaire Barnes and so much more by pre-ordering the Indy Draft Guide!

The most comprehensive Colts draft coverage you can find anywhere releases April 10th, 2023.

Pre-order now with this special discount code!

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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