5 potential landing spots for Eagles DE Derek Barnett in NFL free agency
. . Indianapolis Colts. 4. team. 46.
Derek Barnett could reunite with some familiar faces in Indy with the Colts.
Take a look around the Indianapolis Colts organization, and you might trick yourselves into thinking that you’re looking at a mirror image of the Eagles sometimes.
Their head coach. Frank Reich, was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator in 2017. He and Derek Barnett got to know each other during Barnett’s rookie season.
The same can be said about Indy’s wide receiver’s coach, Mike Groh. He was Philly’s wide receivers coach that season. The Colts’ senior offensive assistant, Press Taylor, was the Eagles’ offensive quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach when he and Barnett were both Birds.
This one’s unrelated, but it is interesting. Colts general manager, Chris Ballard, even landed in Kansas City at the same time that former Eagles head coach Andy Reid was hired to take over with the Chiefs as their headman. They spent four seasons together (2013-2016).
Heading into the next offseason, Indy’s biggest needs are probably the cornerback, defensive end, and wide receiver positions. In 2018, they added two EDGE prospects (Kemoko Turay and Tyquan Lewis), but neither worked out. Ironically, Lewis was the result of a draft choice they acquired in a trade with the Eagles.
In 2021, the Colts used their first two picks on edge rushers (Kwity Paye and defensive end/interior defender hybrid Dayo Odeyingbo), but they still need more help. Make a note of this one if you’re following possible landings pots for Barnett.