New York Giants Draft: Looking back at 7 previous No. 7 NFL Draft picks
2020 NFL Draft: Derrick Brown, DL, Auburn/Carolina Panthers
With the Panthers looking to beef up their defensive line, they decided to select Derrick Brown out of Auburn with the 7th overall pick, making it the second year in a row they decided to go defensive line in the first round, selecting Brian Burns the previous year.
While Derrick Brown has not quite lived up to the title of 7th overall pick, he has been very solid thus far in his career.
At first, many were surprised with Derrick Brown going so high, at the time it was known that Derrick Brown had one of the biggest floors in the draft, however, his ceiling as a star player was questionable to say the least.
Thus far in Derrick Brown’s career this has been the case, while he has not been a star by any means, he has been one of the more solid defensive linemen in the NFL,
In 16 games played this season, Derrick Brown tallied 41 combined tackles, 3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 9 QB hits, and 4 pass deflections while playing in only 62% of defensive snaps.
Derrick Brown has been a very solid run-stopper thus far in his career, helping the Panthers be one of the better defenses in the NFL.
While thus far Derrick Brown has not been worth the No. 7 overall pick he was selected with, the safety net of drafting a player you know will at the very least be a solid NFL player must be satisfying. Brown still has a ton of potential, however, so there is a good chance we see a breakout season out of the young defensive lineman next season.