Nick
Barrett.
Nick
Barrett.
South Carolina· 6'3"· 312 lb· 5.10s 40
R5 · #145 · Los Angeles Chargers"Old-school two-gap nose with anchor and heavy hands who eats double-teams; late bloomer whose one starting year (42 tackles, 6 TFL) forced Day 3 buyers to bet on the rep."Pre-draft read
He aligns as a 0 or 1-technique, maintaining a wide base and low pad level at the snap to deliver a compact jolt through the sternum. He aims to stall guard-center combinations before linebackers can cross his face, winning primarily with anchor strength and heavy hands rather than twitch. His objective is to absorb double teams, keep his shoulders square, and allow the ball to spill to the edge. He exhibits patient shed timing, reading the guard's hip before peeling late to squeeze the A-gap.
His pass-rush plan is limited, primarily relying on a long-arm bull rush. This move often stalls if the guard sits down, as he lacks a true counter to the inside shoulder. His effectiveness is best within 25-snap windows, as his traits decline when he plays extended series, leading to a rise in pad level.
This prospect best fits a 3-4 two-gap scheme that prioritizes stopping the run and seeks a true nose tackle to occupy blockers.
Year 1 role as a rotational run-stuffing nose tackle on early downs, with a ceiling as a reliable starter in a traditional 3-4 scheme.
An attacking 4-3 one-gap penetrating front that demands interior defensive linemen win with first-step quickness and pass-rush moves.
Nick Barrett is a powerful, disciplined two-gap nose tackle whose value is tied to his ability to anchor against double teams and funnel runs, making him a niche but effective player in a specific defensive system.
Nick Barrett Highlights | LAC DT | South Carolina | 2026 NFL Draft
Full college highlight cut of anchor reps, combo pickups and the Texas A&M scoop-and-score.
5th Round Pick DT Nick Barrett College Highlights | LA Chargers
Chargers-focused reel with two-gap wins, stack-and-shed reps, run-fits.
The Chargers are getting a great DT in Nick Barrett
Analyst breakdown highlighting fit next to Poona Ford in Los Angeles even fronts.
As a fifth-year super-senior nose tackle, this player projects as a two-gap plugger designed to anchor the middle of a defensive line. Teams are buying a base-down run defender who can consistently soak double teams and maintain gap integrity, allowing linebackers to flow freely. His 5.10 forty time indicates a functional but not explosive athlete, confirming his role as a space-eater rather than a penetrator.
His evaluation was largely shaped by substantial playing time in his final season, following three years as a rotational player. In 2025, he recorded 42 tackles, 6 TFL, and 2 sacks across 12 games, along with a notable scoop-and-score touchdown against No. 3 Texas A&M. This single productive season, combined with a 76.2 PFF run grade and only 9 pressures on 507 snaps, provided the crucial context for his projection, highlighting his role as a run-stopping specialist.
Evaluators consistently placed him in the fifth-to-sixth-round range due to his capped pass-rush upside and late-blooming production. The trade-off was clear: a reliable anchor and two-gap discipline against the run, balanced against a lack of impact in passing situations. He was ultimately drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Chargers, reflecting the market's assessment of his specific skill set.
- 01
Anchor and play strength
Sinks his hips against down blocks and reliably absorbs guard-center combos, letting Gamecock linebackers scrape clean to the alley.
- 02
Two-gap discipline
Reads flow through the guard, keeps shoulders square in the A-gap, and rarely gets displaced off the spot when centered up over the nose.
- 03
Heavy hands at the point
Wins with a compact jolt-and-shed rather than length; can stall a reach block and stack the puller when he wins first contact.
- 04
Signature play in a big spot
Scoop-and-score for a touchdown at No. 3 Texas A&M (11/15/2025) showed conditioning and awareness in a game that got him on the map.
- 05
Scheme fit for even-front runs
Ideal 0/1-technique body for teams that ask a nose to soak reps on early downs and get subbed on obvious passing situations.
- 01
Late bloomer, thin résumé
One year of real production (42 tackles as a super-senior); prior three seasons combined for barely 30 tackles as a rotational body.
- 02
Pass-rush ceiling capped
5.10 forty and average first-step quicks; wins with a bull but lacks the counter or hand plan to threaten guards after initial contact.
- 03
Injury pothole in 2024
Played only five games; scouts had to lean on Senior Bowl and one healthy fall to grade the body of work, which is a small sample.
- 04
Conditioning in extended series
Snap counts held around 25-30 per game because pad level rises and hands slow down when he stays on the field past third down.
— — — positional median (p50)
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- 5.10sp50
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| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | South Carolina | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | South Carolina | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | South Carolina | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | South Carolina | 12 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 42 | 69 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Journeyman two-gap plugger who carves out a nine-team career by winning reps against inside runs without offering rush juice.
SEC nose who parlayed anchor and one strong starting year into a rotational NFL base-down role.
Old-for-class SEC interior body who tests below the line and never sticks past a training-camp look.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context Barrett came out of Eastern Wayne High (Goldsboro, N.C.) as a three-star and needed four years at South Carolina to become a starter. The turn came in fall 2025, when a healthy senior season produced 42 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and a fumble-return touchdown in the biggest game of his career at No. 3 Texas A&M. Combine work was serviceable rather than exciting — 6-3, 312 pounds with an official 5.10 forty — and boards settled him in the Day 3 nose bucket, with Scouting Grade slotting him No. 190 and PFF crediting a 76.2 run-defense grade against just 9 pressures on 507 snaps. The evaluation was never about upside; it was about whether one full year of anchor tape was enough to buy a base-down role.
NFL fit — Los Angeles Chargers The Chargers took him at No. 145 as a body behind Poona Ford and Teair Tart, exactly the developmental nose Los Angeles' even fronts needed after last year's rotation ran thin by December. Rookie snaps should live on early downs against divisional run games (Chiefs zone, Broncos gap, Raiders inside zone) and inside the goal line. Special teams field-goal block reps are a realistic path to keeping a helmet on game day. The ceiling is a two-year run as a 20-snap base-down nose who lets Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree hunt one-on-ones on obvious pass downs; the floor is a practice-squad body if the anchor doesn't translate against NFL guards.
Retrospective The Barrett pick is a case study in how quickly one signature season can move a body-type prospect from unrostered to Day 3. The evaluation was correct in its bounds — nobody sold him as a rusher, nobody projected starter reps — and the value math (Round 5 for a plug-and-play nose who plays run) fits how the Chargers have historically valued the position. Whether he outperforms this range depends less on scheme and more on whether the 2025 anchor tape holds up when he has to play it against NFL centers three downs in a row.