While it might not be extremely likely, there is at least a chance that the NFL Draft could mean a return home for Derek Barnett.
The former Tennessee defensive end and projected first-round pick visited the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Thursday, getting an opportunity to put his best foot forward for his hometown team that has two picks – No. 5 and No. 18 – in the first round of the upcoming draft.
Barnett told TitansOnline.com that he’d love to make his professional career a homecoming.
“I grew up watching Steve McNair, Keith Bulluck, and ‘The Freak,’ Jevon Kearse,” Barnett said. “I grew up a Titans fan, so it would be awesome to stay home and play here.”
Barnett, who is projected by many pundits as a mid-first round selection, could be a potential value pick for the Titans at No. 18. Need, however, is the primary issue that could negate this potential homecoming.
With primary needs in the secondary and at receiver, the Titans might opt to go with some combination of those with their first-round picks. Furthermore, the Titans are well-stocked at edge rusher. Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo are both under contract through the 2018 season. The team also used a second-round pick on Clemson edge rusher Kevin Dodd in the 2016 draft.
On the surface, it’s not a position that would seem to be a priority for the Titans this year.
But with Titans’ GM Jon Robinson and coach Mike Mularkey valuing team-first and productive players, Barnett certainly fits that mold after leaving Tennessee with the school’s all-time sack record. Perhaps the value could be too much to pass up at No. 18, and while they are set at the position for the moment, both Orakpo and Morgan are expensive players heading to the later part of their prime.
So while it may not be likely, there’s at least a shot that Barnett could end up going where it all started for him.
“I am just ready to get back on the field,’’ Barnett added. “It would be awesome to play here, but I am excited to find out what team I am going to be at, which organization picks me, and ready to get to work honestly.”
