NFL teams shouldn’t overthink Derrick Brown in the 2020 NFL Draft

Listen, it happens. A highly-touted prospect comes to the Scouting Combine, doesn’t test as well as people think he will, and the same analysts who tell you the Combine doesn’t mean much will begin to move that prospect down their draft boards. It’s a common song and dance this time of draft season.

This year, the Combine was a total mess. Anybody who watched it knew it. The problems that repeatedly surfaced, the lack of nutrition, and these guys doing drills at nearly midnight resulted in testing falling off. Players and agents have been complaining about how poorly run the Combine was this year. With all of this negativity, some elite prospects were going to have their testing suffer because of it. The biggest (literally) prospect affected by this in the 2020 NFL Draft is Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown.

[sv slug=”vegas”]

We knew coming into the Combine that Brown wasn’t the type of athlete who would really shine in these drills. He’s not a speedy, pursuit style tackle that’ll run down the Saquon Barkley’s of the NFL, and he isn’t the most explosive pass rusher out there. His agility was fine, but overall limited Brown was viewed as an extremely high floor, lower ceiling tackle prospect. This was accepted by a lot of analysts who still ranked him high, including many who had him top-5 in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Related | Players unhappy about changes made to the NFL Scouting Combine

What really influenced some people were the agility times. Derrick Brown hit an 8.22 3-cone, which is in the bottom one percentile of 3-cone times. His 4.79 short shuttle time was the 10th percentile. Like I stated above, Brown isn’t the quickest guy out there, but those times don’t match the tape at all. Derrick Brown is a big guy, but he doesn’t turn like those times would suggest.

Don't Overthink Derrick Brown Part 2 pic.twitter.com/L1ZXmtOrjW

— AJ Schulte (@AJDraftScout) March 4, 2020

Is that stopping analysts from pushing Derrick Brown boards? Nope. To me, that’s crazy talk. The NFL does this every year and then wonders how a guy as talented as Brown fell so far in the draft.

Brown is power. Pure, unadulterated power. On the football field, Brown becomes the Incredible Hulk mixed with the Doomsday Serum. He’s fury-incarnate contained in a massive 330-pound man.

Don't overthink Derrick Brown Part 4 pic.twitter.com/6LHfF741aY

— AJ Schulte (@AJDraftScout) March 4, 2020

Nobody’s been able to guard him for long as he’s simply too long and too powerful for guards and centers to handle one-on-one, two-on-one, or even three-on-one in many cases. His punches smash into opposing offensive linemen. He fires his hands quickly inside, which allows him to generate great push in the interior of the line. His hand usage and play strength allow him to knock OL into the backfield (quite literally), disrupting the mesh point and timing of the quarterback.

Don't overthink Derrick Brown Part 1 pic.twitter.com/gIg4RzGRVV

— AJ Schulte (@AJDraftScout) March 4, 2020

Brown usually commands a double team from the offensive line, which ultimately doesn’t really stop him for long. He’s violent at the point of attack and has the quickness to sweep by guards who aren’t prepared.

Serious swat from @AuburnFootball DT 5 Derrick Brown. pic.twitter.com/VTWAz1GKQI

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) October 28, 2019

His technique and fundamentals are also outstanding, too, just making an already unstoppable force that much more powerful. Brown does an excellent job of stacking and shedding blocks and resets the line of scrimmage with his size, length, and power. He flashes a deadly bull-rush and a surprisingly varied pass-rush toolbox.

Brown has the quickness to beat guards and the strength to collapse the pocket on tackles. He diagnoses the run well, disrupts the passing game, and lines up all over, providing a versatile bully who dominates the field whenever he steps on the field.

Don't Overthink Derrick Brown Part 3 pic.twitter.com/Kb183O3qPe

— AJ Schulte (@AJDraftScout) March 4, 2020

Derrick Brown is a plug-and-play defensive lineman in the 2020 NFL Draft. He can play a 3-4 DE, 4-3 DT, Nose, in odd or even fronts – you name it, Brown can do it. He’s a tidal wave of mass and power that’s freakish. His tape is simply outstanding, with nothing that suggests he cannot be a Pro Bowl to All-Pro level player within.

So what if he fell victim to a flawed process at the Combine? Even if he doesn’t test like Aaron Donald at his pro day, the tape doesn’t lie. Trust it.

Don’t overthink Derrick Brown in the 2020 NFL Draft.