2020 NFL Draft: Auburn DT Derrick Brown makes case for top prospect

While Ohio State’s Chase Young is all of the rage, Auburn’s Derrick Brown has slowly been making his case for the top prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Last year Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams finished atop many draft writer’s big boards (including my own). This year, Auburn’s defensive tackle Derrick Brown is pleading his case to be the top rated prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft. This feels like the right place to disclaim that top rated prospect does not equate to the number one overall pick in the draft.

While Auburn may have gotten beat by Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs, Brown was a force, making play after play in the backfield for the Tigers. Brown finished the game with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, one hit on Fromm, and one pass defended at the line of scrimmage; he also tallied three solo tackles from the interior of the Auburn defensive line.

In one of his most impressive plays of the game, Brown swam over the right guard, split a double team, and brought down highly rated running back D’Andre Swift in the backfield for Auburn. Showing a great display of speed and strength, Brown is a rare talent that will likely hear his name called in the top ten of the 2020 NFL Draft this upcoming April.

With great anchor strength, it is a rare sight to see Brown get driven off the line of scrimmage, but the more likely case if for an offensive lineman to be driven back into his own ball carrier. With a low center of gravity, Brown is a wrecking ball against any offensive lineman that he has lined up across in the 2019 season.

Number five of Auburn has a handful of games left to continue to bolster his resume and put together additional solid film. Up there with Ohio State’s Chase Young, Derrick Brown looks not only like a top five player in this year’s draft class, but a top prospect in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.