Rival Views: Best SEC defensive end

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate which SEC defensive end is the best college player.

RELATED: NFL Draft - top DL | Farrell Freshman 15

Since this isn’t a draft evaluation, I’m going to go with Derek Barnett from Tennessee. So why wouldn’t Barnett be the better NFL draft pick choice for scouts? Myles Garrett is longer and faster and is more of that elite speed rusher that NFL scouts drool over and that GMs bet their careers on as a top-three pick. But Barnett, to me, is the more well-rounded college player.

Now, keep in mind this is a bit of a turnaround for me. I have always felt Garrett was the better player and always had him higher in my annual Farrell 50, whether it was pre-season, mid-season or post-season, but Barnett has impressed me more and more each time I watch him. He’s explosive off the snap, he can overpower opponents more than Garrett and he plays the run better. Garrett has improved in holding the edge this season, but Barnett has improved in every aspect of his game even more – and there wasn’t a ton of room for improvement.

Barnett does not play opposite an elite defensive end like Garrett does, and teams often run away from him, as Alabama did quite often this weekend, and they like to chip him. Teams help out on Garrett as well, but they aren’t afraid to run at him and even with his improvement as a run defender, he can be worn down a bit. Barnett has a non-stop motor, wills himself into plays that aren’t near him and has a slightly better shoulder dip.

I’m not going to say that Barnett will go ahead of Garrett if they come out for the NFL Draft as expected this year. If specialized players like Leonard Floyd can be drafted so high, a more complete version like Garrett could go No. 1 overall. But Barnett could also do work inside if he bulked up, something Garrett could never do. Right now I’ll take Barnett as the most complete college defensive end in the SEC over Garrett, Jonathan Allen, Carl Lawson and the rest.

Myles Garrett is not lighting up the stat sheet every week, but he does so much for this Texas A&M defense; he draws so much attention from opposing offensive lines that opens up plays for the Aggies' other top defenders.

The former five-star defensive end does a phenomenal job not letting anybody to the edge. He forces them back inside so somebody can make the tackle, and he’s been outstanding against the run so far this season.

Garrett is so fast and physical off the snap. Against Auburn, he was in the backfield as the Tigers were running zone-read option; he would blow it up before QB Sean White could even make the decision to hand it off or pull it and keep himself.

So far Garrett has only 14 tackles, but six are for loss and he has four sacks. He has six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a recovery.

But there is so much more to Garrett’s game than just stats. He draws so much attention that has absolutely opened things up for talented DE Daeshon Hall and other rush ends for the Aggies, who are giving up just about 19 points per game.

Garrett can get to the outside edge much better this season, he has the physical tools to go inside, deal with double teams and he makes life miserable for offensive linemen and quarterbacks sitting in the pocket.

It makes a ton of sense that Garrett could be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. He’s just so dominant, physical and athletic in every way that he could have a tremendous professional career for many years.