Highlight-reel plays are often sparse for even the best college defensive linemen due to the nature of their position and the lack of flashiness that comes with it.

That wasn't the case for Derrick Brown who, after a season filled with numerous national-award nominations and even a little Heisman buzz, will go down as one of the top defensive players in Auburn history.

It didn't take long for Brown's impact to be felt along Rodney Garner's defensive line after the 5-star prospect signed out of Lanier High School in Auburn's 2016 class. Brown began to really light up offensive lines and opposing backfields his sophomore season before playing his way into a first-round grade his junior year.

He decided to come back, though, and his stock improved even further into a likely top-10 pick. Brown was seemingly making "wow" plays every game as the leader of Auburn's stingy defense.

Here's a compilation of the best of Brown from this season, as well as the rest of his Auburn career.

Brown's friendship with roommate and fellow senior Marlon Davidson was thoroughly entertaining off the field during their four years at Auburn — what with the "who's fatter than who" jokes and all — but the on-field product was also a thing of beauty.

That was especially so on the occasions they combined — Davidson flying in from the edge and Brown plowing through the middle — to make defensive stops or highlight sacks. Their tag-team sack of Jake Fromm during Auburn's 40-17 win over Georgia in 2017 was a major high point of both their sophomore campaigns.

Brown, when given the opportunity, was never afraid of showing off his strength while handling a running back.

This tackle for loss set the tone for Auburn in its 28-20 win over Texas A&M this season, as the Tigers had one of their best tackling performances in recent years — in space and at the point of attack.

Brown really enjoyed facing Kellen Mond. In his three years against the Texas A&M quarterback, Brown tallied three sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, three pass deflections and three forced fumbles.

This strip-sack of Mond was nearly recovered by defensive tackle Dontavius Russell, but Auburn still scored the go-ahead touchdown on its next drive, anyway.

Brown's domination of Texas A&M's center from the snap, coupled with his ability to knock Mond down with one arm, encapsulates everything that was so impressive about Brown during his time as a Tiger.

Here's example No. 2 of Brown flashing his pure muscle — picking up UCF running back Adrian Killins 4 feet into the air and dropping him.

The play was scary, yes, but Killins immediately popped up. And after Brown's comments two weeks ago about Auburn having a "lackadaisical" attitude in that Peach Bowl loss, the then-sophomore may have been trying to send a message to the rest of his defense.

Brown had an incredible game in Gainesville this season (more on that later). As Florida was looking to score and ice the game, Brown came up with his second fumble recovery of the day off a strip sack of Gators quarterback Kyle Trask.

It was after this play — and this game — that the nation began to take notice and the Derrick-Brown-is-one-of-the-best-players-in-college-football-regardless-of-position discussions really picked up.

Most the 2018 Southern Miss is purposefully forgotten by Auburn fans — whether it's because of the three-hour lightning delay or the fact that the Golden Eagles hung around in a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

The game did include what was maybe Brown's best play of his junior year, though. The Southern Miss quarterback probably held on to the ball too long, but that doesn't take away from the sheer athleticism displayed by Brown to make a leaping, Superman-esque takedown.

The only unit to remotely slow down Heisman winner Joe Burrow and the wildly efficient LSU offense this season was Kevin Steele's Auburn defense.

Brown and Davidson had big games, particularly in the first half, highlighted by Brown forcing Burrow to be sacked essentially by his own offensive lineman.

It may have been a large product of Burrow running into said offensive lineman; nevertheless, this play will be shown on Brown's NFL highlight tapes leading up to the draft as a representation of his brute strength.

There's no way of knowing what would have come of Mac Jones' third-and-goal pass attempt if Brown hadn't hesitated, stopped his rush, identified Jones' intended destination for the ball, and batted it down — and tackled Jones in the backfield.

Tigers safety Jeremiah Dinson would like to think he would have taken the pass back for a pick-six, considering he was laying in wait where it appears Jones was aiming the ball, and Alabama running back Najee Harris wasn't yet looking for the pass.

All that matters for Auburn, however, is that Brown forced a field-goal try that would ultimately be deemed "The Doink."

Auburn fans will also wonder "what if" on this play that looked like a sure-fire touchdown for Brown, considering Bo Nix threw an interception two plays later.

Still, Brown's near-scoop-and-score — off a Davidson forced fumble, mind you — was one of the most impressive and entertaining plays of the 2019 college football season. It also gave us one of the top Auburn quotes of the season, from Davidson, about Brown: "I told him he's fat for not scoring."

Also a play that is equal parts hilarious and jaw-dropping, Brown comes off the sideline for the subbing Big Kat Bryant (ignore the tweet saying it was Brown jogging off the field), finding himself on a collision course with Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy.

“That is the funniest play I’ve ever seen out of all the years I’ve played football,” Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe said of the sequence. “(Ealy) ain’t even see him coming… He’s like, ‘What?’ He’s looking one second, there’s nobody there, and then he turns around again, boom.”

At least now we know Brown could play some defensive back in a pinch in the NFL.

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