Derek Barnett Tries to Manage the Expectations
PHILADELPHIA - In the NFL, expectations can often define careers.
Derek Barnett has already been a solid player for Philadelphia and if his pedigree read fourth-round pick out of say Ole Miss, most observers would be thrilled at the production the 24-year-old has put up during his first three professional seasons.
However, as the 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Tennessee where Barnett happened to break the sack record of perhaps the greatest defensive player in franchise history in Reggie White, that tends to skew things.
Barnett's boss, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, is fond of saying his players aren't graded on a curve.
On an academic level, the assumption of a grading curve is to help those struggling with the material. On rare occasions, though, if you're at Harvard with a bunch of over-achievers, maybe the professor sets the bar higher to push though capable of accelerating.
The latter is what a first-round tag does to an NFL player.
Barnett had a very good rookie season as a rotational player on the edge behind Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Chris Long, topping out in Super Bowl LII when he recovered Graham's strip-sack of Tom Brady, a play that essentially sealed the first Lombardi Trophy for the Eagles.
By Year 2, Barnett was the guy opposite Graham with Curry joining Long as the capable backups.
A number of injuries have hampered Barnett, however, the most notable being a torn labrum in his shoulder that required surgery and limited him to six games during his sophomore season. Barnett missed two more games in 2019 but did manage a career-high 6.5 sacks.
A hamstring strain basically erased training camp and Week 1 for Barnett this season but he was back for 24 percent of the snaps last week against the Los Angeles Rams.
Presumably, that will be ramped up a bit against Cincinnati on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field as the Eagles try to stop a two-game skid to start the season.
“I don’t think the conditioning aspect was a factor," Barnett said Thursday when asked about his playing time coming off the injury. "More technique stuff, like eyes and hands.”
Barnett described his latest injury as a “small setback" but denied that frustration is building.
"It was difficult," he admitted, "but I’ve had injuries before. I can’t let that affect me. ... What’s the point of complaining about it? Football is a violent sport."
In his absence, Josh Sweat, the projected fourth DE on the depth chart behind Graham, Barnett, and Curry, played well, especially in Week 1 against Washington when a hamstring injury to Curry and a potential concussion suffered by Graham, as well as Barnett's absence, offered up plenty of opportunities.
ProFootballFocus.com graded Sweat as the second-beat edge player in the league for his work against the Washington Football Team.
Despite Barnett being back against the Rams, Sweat was given his first NFL start and played in 57 percent of the snaps. He wasn't quite as effective but did produce five tackles and is the sixth-rated edge player through two games behind big-name stars like T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett, and the now-injured Nick Bosa.
For now, Barnett continues to get the benefit of the doubt.
“I’m still very bullish on Derek,” said Schwartz. "I think he’s going to play a big part in what we do. He’s tough. He can rush the passer. He plays with great effort. Not the biggest guy, but he’s strong at the point of attack, and run game. I think he fits our system."
Barnett, meanwhile, isn't listening to the outside noise when it comes to expectations.
"I feel like my expectation for myself is to come in here every day and get better," he said. "I can’t let expectations of other people drive me. I’ve got to be able to drive myself off my expectations."
In the short term that equates to a win on Sunday against the Bengals no matter his role.
“If we get a lot of sacks, that’d be lovely," Barnett said. "But at the end of the day, we’re trying to get a "W." That’s what matters the most."
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM and every Monday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportsMap Radio. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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