When it was announced that Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes had made a trade to move back into the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, we all wondered which player he thought highly enough about to give up draft capital.
We now know that player is LB Derrick Barnes out of Purdue.
Ever since the pick, national media members (and us) have raved about Barnes and how he can be a starter for the Lions right off the bat.
During a recent interview on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Barnes will play in the middle and will wear No. 55.
From Lions Wire:
Host Pat Kirwan led into the discussion on Barnes by noting from his interview with Barnes in March,
“(Barnes) wants to play middle linebacker position, he wants to run the show.”
The head coach agreed, and it proved a great segue for Campbell to talk about the fourth-round pick.
“He’s got an old-school mentality about him,” Campbell said with obvious pride. “He’s already reached out to me, he wants to be No. 55. I mean, how throwback is 55 for an inside backer?”
Nation, I have a feeling that Barnes is the type of player who will quickly become a fan-favorite in Detroit and it sounds like Dan Campbell believes that too.
