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Michael Barrett 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Michigan LB

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Greg Cosell | Last updated 4/11/24

The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.

Here's our report on Michael Barrett.

Michael Barrett 2024 Pro Day RESULTS

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 233 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.70 seconds
10-yard split: 1.64 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.55 seconds
Vertical jump: N/A
Broad jump: N/A
Arm length: 32 ⅛"

Michael Barrett 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

STRENGTHS

Shorter than desired for off-the-ball, stacked linebacker but played with a highly competitive and physical temperament.
Strong key and diagnosed with quick reactions and short-area burst to avoid offensive line blocks and work through traffic.
Flashed stack and shed ability in the run game attacking downhill and playing off offensive line blocks to make tackles.
Played downhill in run game with tenacity and competitiveness. Active attacking offensive line with force and power.
Showed confined-space explosive pop and power, which often compensated for his lack of size and length.
Play speed and inside-out sideline-to-sideline range showed up better on film than timed speed. Moved well.
Showed some power and force as an inside blitzer attacking and beating running backs. Compact strength.
Played with excellent eyes and reaction quickness in underneath coverage. Rallied to the ball with plus speed.
Excellent in pass coverage both in underneath zone reading routes, rallying to the ball and carrying seams.

WEAKNESSES

Does not possess the physical and athletic traits you ideally want in an off-the-ball linebacker. Lacks desired length.
Not a higher-level athlete for the position with his short stocky build and lack of suddenness and explosiveness.
Lack of height and length at times led to him getting swallowed up by climbing offensive linemen in run game. Could not disengage.
Could be over-aggressive at times in the run game losing gap integrity, which can be cleaned up at the next level.
Did not see much man-to-man tight end matchups — and given his lack of length, it's not likely he would do that in the NFL.

NFL TRANSITION

Barrett was a fun player to watch in the context of Michigan’s highly talented and well-schemed defense. Despite him not possessing ideal measurables for an off-the-ball, stacked linebacker, I believe Barrett has a chance to develop into a starting three-down linebacker at the next level.

Barrett plays with an instinctive feel for the position with strong key; diagnose read and react traits; and dynamic short area quickness in the box to find the ball. There is a highly competitive physical nature to his game that takes him well beyond his less-than-ideal length.

There might be a size and play style comparison to be made to Nick Bolton. Bolton was clearly a more highly ranked linebacker coming out of Missouri, and he has proven to be an excellent NFL linebacker. But many were concerned about his size (5’11 ⅛” and 237 pounds without dominant athletic testing measurables, which were similar to, and in some cases lower than, Barrett’s). The better comp might be Anthony Walker, who was a fifth-round pick coming out of Northwestern in 2017 and has been a solid NFL linebacker starting every game for the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 and 2020 and overall starting 63 of the 73 games he has played in.

Barrett is an outlier with his less than 6-foot height, and that will likely remove him from some teams' draft boards based on their critical factors template. But there is no question he is a good player and prospect who will find a place in the NFL and could well develop into a quality starting linebacker.

OTHER NOTES

Barrett played six years at Michigan becoming a full-time starter in 2022. In the 2023 national championship season, Barrett started all 15 games, finishing his career with 35 total starts. Barrett came out of Georgia where he was a record-setting high school quarterback.

Barrett played approximately 70 percent of the defensive snaps in 2023 and did not leave the field in the sub nickel. At times on third down, he lined up in the A gap as part of a double mug front and was deployed as a rusher. He was deployed as a blitzer on third down both from the inside and off the edge — at times part of stunt concepts where he could be the picker of the looper; There were man coverage snaps where Barrett matched up to the tight end.

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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