Scouting Report: DT Derrick Brown

Derrick Brown could be Detroit's first round selection in this year's NFL Draft.

In reviewing film from the 2019 season, it is evident that the Detroit Lions were simply unable to consistently create interior pressure without blitzing. 

Detroit has an opportunity, at number three, to select an impactful interior defensive lineman.

Several early mock drafts have the Lions selecting Auburn's Derrick Brown. 

DT Derrick Brown - Auburn Tigers / © John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

During his senior season, he was a disruptive defensive tackle for the Tigers.

According to the Draft Network:

"Hands are precise. Lands powerful blows to offset forward push with good timing and placement. Little issue with pressing and extending his arms to establish stack of blocks before tossing or discarding blockers to uncover into desired gap and challenge the football. 

Thanks to his quickness he can be very potent in trying to shoot gaps, plus you tack on his functional balance and you'd better have quick feet to set up in front of him. Strong rip move and surface reduction to "get skinny" and slip through A-gaps when he's asked to do so. 

Surreal motor for a player of his stature. He's an absolute load in the middle, a heavyweight who wins positioning and is constantly playing on the plus side of the line of scrimmage. The only times he's bubbled is when he gets caught up in a huddled mess of traffic from a lot of bodies on the interior.

Second-year running back Kerryon Johnson is one of Brown's biggest supporters, despite the early rivalry between the two at Auburn.

“I am all for that,” Johnson replied when asked about the Lions drafting Brown. “He’s a good, fantastic player. I’m all for that. As many Auburn guys on the team that we can have, I’m for that.”

“Me and Derrick used to hate each other, believe it or not,” Johnson said. “I was pretty rude to Derrick when he first got there. Called him ‘Brownie’ because he was all baby fat and just soft as (expletive). But Derrick, man, I’m telling you now, I’m not getting hit by Derrick. I’m not going to play against Derrick. He has become an outstanding player.

"He’s always been a good guy, despite the rudeness to him, and he’s even gotten better. He came back to finish something that he started, and he finished it. He got better. He kept that team together. He won some tough games for those guys. He played excellent. Everything he was supposed to do, he did, so I can’t be any more happy for him. I will never tell him that, because that's just not what I do. I really couldn't. The guy, he's been the prototypical big man on campus. He plays hard, he's a good person, he takes care of his family."

Born: April 15, 1998, Sugar Hill, GA

Height: 6′2  

Weight: 245 lbs 

College: Auburn Tigers/Defensive tackle

Major: Business

Related

Wade Phillips is a Long Shot to Be Lions Defensive Coordinator

Late Round Quarterback Options for Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions are in Driver's Seat of 2020 NFL Draft