Eagles DE Derek Barnett Has One More Shot to Prove Himself: 'He Will!' Says Darius Slay

Former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Derek Barnett never improved from his rookie season and has been beset by injury. But he should have a role in 2023, though how much of one will depend on his production and health.

When it comes to defensive end Derek Barnett, there seem to be two camps of Philadelphia Eagles fans – those who forgot he was still even on the roster and those who would like to forget him completely.

They are still waiting for Barnett to fulfill the promise he showed as a rookie when the first-round draft pick from the 2017 class had five sacks and 16 quarterback hits. 

He had a key sack to blunt a potential comeback by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship and his fumble recovery in the final minutes of Super Bowl LII is overshadowed by Brandon Graham, who forced the fumble by sacking New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Barnett never really got much better from his rookie year.

In fairness, he has struggled with a litany of injuries, though he did have a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2019 and added 5.5 a year later in the ugly, 4-11-1 season of 2020.

His 21.5 career sacks are OK, but when you are the 14th overall pick in the draft and someone who broke Reggie White’s sack record while at the University of Tennessee, more is expected. Much, much more, fair or not.

The numbers aren’t what they should be, but there’s never denying Barnett’s hustle on every play. Sometimes he crosses the line and delivers a late hit at a costly time or jumps offside in a big moment, and that is something that drives fans and coaches nuts.

His teammates seem to still believe in him.

Cornerback Darius Slay responded to a tweet on Monday from Jakib Sports’ Derrick Gunn, who tweeted that the Eagles are still waiting for Barnett to break through. Slay responded with a tweet: “He will this (year) for sure!!”

He will this yr for sure!! https://t.co/MgsAOq3dEJ

— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) May 22, 2023

If Barnett can show the kind of form that was expected of him seven years ago, he will be a big plus for a team once again bearing Super Bowl expectations.

He probably only has one more year to show he belongs not only in Philadelphia but in the league after signing a two-year extension last offseason.

Barnett, though, was reduced to a spectator in the first year of that deal as his defensive teammates rampaged their way to 70 sacks after being forced to miss the entire season when he tore an ACL early in the season-opener against the Detroit Lions.

He is an afterthought when it comes to configuring the starting lineup on the outside.

That lineup looks to be shaking up this way on the edge – Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat on the first team with rookie Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham on the second.

Graham’s snaps will be closely monitored so it would likely be Barnett, who will turn 27 at the end of June, who shares reps with Graham.

Provided, of course, Barnett can deliver production and, most importantly, stay healthy.

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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