Derrick Brown (American football)

Derrick Brown (born April 15, 1998) is an American professional football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers where he was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, and was selected by the Panthers in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Derrick Brown
refer to caption
Brown with the Carolina Panthers in 2020
No. 95 – Carolina Panthers
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1998-04-15) April 15, 1998 (age 26)
Sugar Hill, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Lanier (Sugar Hill)
College:Auburn (2016–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 1 / pick: 7
Career history
Roster status:Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Total tackles:248
Sacks:8.0
Pass deflections:21
Interceptions:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Derrick Brown was born in Sugar Hill, Georgia on April 15, 1998. He later attended Lanier High School in Sugar Hill, Georgia, where he had 33.5 quarterback sacks, 270 tackles, 5 forced fumbles, and 3 interceptions as a defensive tackle. As a senior, Brown was seen as one of best high school defensive tackles in the nation, where he considered multiple schools during his recruitment, with Georgia and Alabama being seen as the favorites to land him, before he committed to Auburn University on February 3, 2016.[1]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40 Commit date
Derrick Brown
DT
Sugar Hill, Georgia Lanier High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 317 lb (144 kg) Feb 3, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 3 (DT); 3 (East); 1 (GA)   Rivals: 3 (DT); 3 (Natl); 1 (GA)  247Sports: 9 (Natl); 4 (DT); 1 (GA)  ESPN: 3 (DT); 6 (East); 1 (GA)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Auburn Football Commitments". Rivals.com.
  • "2016 Auburn Football Commits". Scout.com.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career

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As a freshman in 2016, Brown's recorded 11 tackles with a sack and fumble recovery.[2] As a sophomore in 2017, Brown started in all 12 games, recorded 49 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 2 forced fumbles.[2] Brown earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors as a junior, with 48 tackles including 10.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks. As a senior, he had 55 tackles including 12.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and four pass breakups, earning himself All-American honors and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.[3][4]

College statistics

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Year Team Class GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int PD FF FR
2016 Auburn FR 8 3 8 11 1.5 1.0 0 1 0 1
2017 Auburn SO 13 28 29 57 9.5 3.0 0 1 2 0
2018 Auburn JR 13 26 22 48 10.5 4.5 0 2 1 1
2019 Auburn SR 12 32 22 54 11.5 4.0 0 4 2 2
Career 46 89 81 170 33.0 12.5 0 8 5 4

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+58 in
(1.95 m)
326 lb
(148 kg)
34+14 in
(0.87 m)
9 in
(0.23 m)
5.16 s 1.73 s 2.98 s 4.79 s 8.22 s 27.0 in
(0.69 m)
9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)
28 reps
All values from NFL Combine[5][6]

Brown was selected seventh overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 NFL draft.[3] He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2020,[7] worth a fully guaranteed $23.621 million.[8] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Panthers on December 7,[9] and activated on December 11.[10] In Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers, Brown recorded his first two career sacks on Aaron Rodgers during the 24–16 loss.[11] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[12]

In Week 1 of the 2021 season against the New York Jets, Brown recorded his first sack of the season on Zach Wilson in the 19–14 win.[13]

In Week 3 of the 2022 season against the New Orleans Saints, Brown recorded his first career interception on Jameis Winston in the Panthers' 22–14 win.[14]

On April 8, 2024, the Panthers signed Brown to a four-year, $96 million extension, with $63.165 million guaranteed.[15]

Brown suffered a meniscus injury in Week 1 of the 2024 season and was placed on injured reserve on September 10, 2024.[16]

Professional statistics

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Legend
NFL Record (DT Position)
Bold Career high
Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot TFL Sk QBHits Int PD FF FR
2020 CAR 16 15 21 13 34 8 2.0 12 0 4 0 0
2021 CAR 16 14 27 14 41 8 3.0 9 0 4 0 0
2022 CAR 17 17 30 37 67 5 1.0 12 1 7 0 0
2023 CAR 17 17 57 46 103 7 2.0 15 1 6 0 0
2024 CAR 1 1 1 2 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 67 64 136 112 248 28 8.0 48 2 21 0 0

Personal life

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Brown's wife is Tayla Main, and together they have two children, a son and a daughter.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Derrick Brown, Lanier , Defensive Tackle". 247Sports.
  2. ^ a b "Derrick Brown - Football". Auburn University Athletics. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Green, Tom (April 23, 2020). "Auburn's Derrick Brown selected by Carolina Panthers in 1st round of 2020 NFL Draft". AL.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Derrick Brown College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Derrick Brown Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Scout Derrick Brown College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Derrick Brown signs rookie contract". Panthers.com. May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Baca, Michael (May 8, 2020). "Derrick Brown, Panthers agree on 4-year, $23.6M deal". NFL.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Gantt, Darin (December 7, 2020). "Panthers place eight players on reserve/COVID list". Panthers.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Bryan, Will (December 11, 2020). "Three players activated from reserve/COVID-19 list". Panthers.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers - December 19th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "2020 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "Jets 14-19 Panthers (Sep 12, 2021) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "Saints 14-22 Panthers (Sep 25, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Gantt, Darin (April 5, 2024). "Panthers extend defensive tackle Derrick Brown". Panthers.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Gantt, Darin (September 10, 2024). "Derrick Brown placed on injured reserve". Panthers.com.
  17. ^ Inabinett, Mark (October 9, 2020). "'Good little talk' with dad gets Derrick Brown going". AL.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
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