2020 NFL Mock Draft, Week 3: First-round projections – Justin Herbert rising?

Auburn’s Derrick Brown turned down the opportunity to be a first round draft pick in 2019 to return to Auburn for his senior season. Brown hasn’t been terribly productive during his collegiate career, but he’s been a dominant force in the middle of the Tigers defense, consistently requiring double teams that opens the door for his teammates to make plays around him.

Brown has tremendous strength, and is a load to deal with for interior linemen. He leverages that strength and gets offensive linemen off balance, forcing running backs to bounce away from their intended gap, or forcing quarterbacks to scramble outside of the pocket.

Brown’s measurements will be interesting at the combine because it doesn’t look like he has very long arms, which could become somewhat of a liability against big, physical offensive linemen in the NFL. Even still, Brown’s decision to come back for his senior season is likely to net him as the top defensive tackle in this class.

Pittsburgh could also look at an edge rusher or safety — Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos and Alabama’s Xavier McKinney come to mind as possibilities for this pick as well. It would be tough to pass on Brown at this point, though.