Derrick Barnes
Detroit LionsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
$25M Lions extension plus the structural LB starter role in 2023 establishes Barnes in the rare mid-tier LB market value class. The Purdue Big Ten 4th-round origin plus the 2024 ACL plus the 2025 return put the developmental trajectory in the post-injury context band. The 2026 question is whether Barnes returns to tier 5-6 territory or whether the structural injury wear closes the elite chapter.
Barnes came out of Purdue as the Detroit Lions' 4th-round pick (113th overall) in 2021. He emerged into a structural LB starter in 2023 before tearing his ACL early in the 2024 season. He signed a three-year, $25M extension with the Lions in 2024 plus returned in 2025.
Strengths
- $25M Lions extension plus the structural LB starter role establishes real market value foundation.
- Purdue Big Ten 4th-round origin plus five years of Lions system experience gives him real veteran market value.
Concerns
- 2024 early-season ACL puts continued durability question on every 2026 projection.
- Detroit's broader defensive identity around the Hutchinson primary pass-rush priority puts continued Barnes production partly dependent on team-fit.
What to watch: Whether Barnes returns to tier 6 (top 50) in 2026 post-ACL recovery, the threshold for confirming the structural LB ceiling holds.
Derrick Barnes Injury StatusNot listed
Derrick Barnes is not on the injury report as of Oct 7. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Of the 450 players taken as a fourth-rounder between 2012 and 2021, 38% earned a second contract and 26% became starters. The median one started 11 career games.