Carolina rounded out their draft class with a national champion.
Michael Barrett Jr., the 240th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is fresh off winning a ring with the Michigan Wolverines. The newest Carolina linebacker was drafted in the seventh round after six years in college. Barrett Jr. started the last two years for the Wolverines, being named to the All-Big Ten Third Team in each of them. He captained the Michigan defense this past season.
His 64 career games played is a Michigan record. Impressively, Barrett Jr. was never called for a penalty in college. His impact at Michigan was felt on defense, but he also played 634 career snaps on special teams. The flipside of his impressive games played record at a prestigious program like Michigan is that he will be 25-years-old at kickoff in September.
Barrett Jr. dropped in the draft because of his size. He’s both smaller and lighter than the ideal linebacker in 2024, and he occasionally gets swallowed up by larger opposing linemen. He moves well, but lacks top-end, consistent coverage ability to match up against shifty tight end and slot types.
His calling card is sure-fire tackling. Barrett Jr. only stands at 5’11”, but he’s solid when it comes to taking down ball carriers. On top of that, he boasts solid pass rushing skills as well. Barrett Jr. totaled 6.5 sacks in his last two seasons at Michigan, coming on a mix of broken plays and pressures dialed up by former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
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