All season we’ve read the comparisons between Tennessee’s Derek Barnett and Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett. Most NFL Mock Drafts have Garrett as the earlier pick — like the one from NFLDraftScout.com (which has Garret at No. 1 to the Browns and Barnett at No. 9 to the Panthers) and the one from ProFootball Focus (Garrett No. 1 to the Browns and Barnett No. 4 to the Bears).
The career sack numbers are similar between the two, but Barnett has a decisive advantage against SEC opponents.
Sacks vs SEC opponents/Career sacks:
D. Barnett 29/32
T. Williams 18/20.5
J. Allen 21.5/26
C. Lawson 11/14
A. Key 12/15
M. Garrett 12/32.5— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) December 29, 2016
What does it mean? From an admitted Tennessee bias, it means Derek Barnett’s production came against superior talent while Garrett padded his stats against lesser opponents. It’s obvious, right?
Granted, both players have received their share of national recognition. Both made the Coaches All-SEC Team and both were named First Team AP All-America.
If you have an opinion on Derek Barnett versus Myles Garrett, leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.