Derrick Brown (born April 15, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and was drafted by the Panthers in the first round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

High school career

Derrick Brown was born in

Sugar Hill, Georgia Sugar Hill is a city in northern Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County and a suburb of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The population was 18,522 as of the 2010 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Gwinnett ...

on April 15, 1998. He later attended Lanier High School in

, where he had 33.5

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

, 270

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, 5 forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s, and 3

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s as a

. As a senior, Brown was seen as one of best high school defensive tackles in the nation, where he considered multiple schools during his recruitment, with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

being seen as the favorites to land him, before he committed to

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

on February 3, 2016.

College career

As a freshman in 2016, Brown's recorded 11 tackles with a sack and fumble recovery. As a sophomore in 2017, Brown started in all 12 games, recorded 49 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 2 forced fumbles. Brown earned second-team All-SEC honors as a junior, with 48 tackles including 10.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks. As a senior, he had 55 tackles including 12.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and four pass breakups, earning himself All-American honors and was named the

SEC Defensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) bestow the following individual awards at the end of each college football season. Player of the Year * 1933: Beattie Feathers, HB, Tennessee * 1934: Dixie Howell, TB, Alabama * 1935: Willie Ge ...

Statistics

Professional career

Brown was selected seventh overall by the

in the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2020, worth a fully guaranteed $23.621 million. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the Panthers on December 7, 2020, and activated on December 11. In Week 15 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Brown recorded his first two career sacks on

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

during the 24–16 loss.

Statistics

Personal life

Brown's wife is Tayla Main, and together they have two children, a son and a daughter.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers football bioCarolina Panthers bio
1998 births Living people People from Gwinnett County, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football defensive tackles Auburn Tigers football players All-American college football players Carolina Panthers players {{Defensive-lineman-1990s-stub