Derrick Barnes: 'All of Us Are Starters'
The Detroit Lions have invested heavily in their linebacking corps during the 2023 offseason.
First, the team extended Alex Anzalone to a three-year contract. The veteran had a strong year piloting the Lions' defense in 2022, and has emerged as a leader of the team's rebuild over the last two years.
Additionally, the team drafted Jack Campbell 18th overall in April, signaling hopes for him to be its middle linebacker of the future.
Those two, paired with Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, give Detroit a solid foundation at the position. Heading into the team's season opener Sept. 7, no official announcement has been made about who will be with the starting defense.
In the Lions' eyes, they're all capable of starting games. Barnes, who has fought into contention for a top spot, thanks to a strong camp, believes any of the top five can handle playing in key moments.
"All four or five of us are gonna play," Barnes told the team's website. "That's just how it is when you have a group of guys that we have in our room. Really, all of us are starters. There's no drop-off, like honestly, from Alex to whoever, fifth, sixth, there's no drop-off."
Barnes' career trajectory has been up and down at times. There have been flashes, such as a 12-tackle performance against Green Bay. Yet, consistency has been lacking.
When the Lions drafted Campbell, many believed Barnes could be the odd man out in the competition.
Upon seeing the news, he immediately texted linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard asking simply for the chance to compete.
He got it and came to Allen Park for training camp on a mission to elevate the linebackers room.
"At the beginning, there was a lot of pressure. You get an 18th overall pick, which is a great player. Jack is a young, great player. He's smart, he loves the ball," Barnes, now a third-year linebacker, explained. "It's not the easiest thing to go out and compete with a guy like him. Also, faith played a big part on that. I kind of lost sight of what God had planned for me, so I just got back on track with that. Also, you can't worry about the future or the past. You have to worry about now."
Heading into his third professional season, the Purdue product trained in Tampa, Fla., with Anzalone, in an effort to build his explosiveness and field awareness.
He saw how well his veteran teammate saw the field and analyzed opposing offenses. In spending time with him, Barnes hoped to get to that level, ahead of the 2023 campaign.
When he wasn't training, he was diving into the defensive playbook and studying film.
The result, he hopes, will be a breakout season, in whichever role Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn assigns to him.
"Right after my second year (in 2022), I was like, 'I've had enough,'" Barnes explained. "I've had enough of playing slow, not being the player I know I can be, because of confidence. I told myself that my third year, I will make a change, and however things end up, whether I start, I rotate or I'm on special teams, I don't care. But, I will for sure prove to myself how good I can be and how I can develop and how fast I can read things. So, it was just really a mindset thing for me."
