# Mark Barron
**Mark Barron** (born 1989 in [Mobile, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/mobile-alabama)) is a former [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) defender who played nine NFL seasons from 2012 to 2020, beginning as a safety with the [Tampa Bay Buccaneers](https://www.edgepedia.org/tampa-bay-buccaneers) and ending as an inside linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was selected seventh overall by Tampa Bay in the 2012 NFL Draft after a decorated career at the University of Alabama.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Mobile, Alabama; 6 ft 2 in, 230 lb[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarrMa00.htm) |
| College | Alabama, 2008–2011; played safety under Nick Saban[2](https://alabamaprepfootball.com/player/mark-barron/) |
| Draft | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1st round, 7th overall, 2012 NFL Draft[1](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarrMa00.htm) |
| NFL teams | Buccaneers (2012–14), Rams (2014–18), Steelers (2019)[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career) |
| Career totals | 119 games; 657 tackles, 12.0 sacks, 9 interceptions, 42 passes defensed, 5 forced fumbles[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career) |
| College honors | Three-time All-SEC, first-team All-America as a senior, starter on two national championship teams[4](https://www.nfl.com/news/mark-barron-in-high-demand-for-safety-starved-nfl-teams-09000d5d8289608d) |
| NFL career span | 2012–2020[2](https://alabamaprepfootball.com/player/mark-barron/) |
## College career at Alabama
Barron played safety at Alabama from 2008 through 2011 and became one of the program's most decorated defensive backs[2](https://alabamaprepfootball.com/player/mark-barron/). As a sophomore in 2009 he recorded 76 tackles and seven interceptions as a leading figure on the Alabama defense that won a national championship[5](https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2012mbarron.php). In 2010 he was named a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and first-team All-SEC by both the league coaches and the AP; he led the team with 75 tackles, had three interceptions, and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy[6](https://rolltide.com/documents/download/2010/12/28/2010-c1b-media-guide.pdf). Entering his senior year he was a veteran of 26 starts at safety with 169 career tackles[6](https://rolltide.com/documents/download/2010/12/28/2010-c1b-media-guide.pdf), and he finished as a three-time All-SEC selection, a first-team [All-America](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-america) as a senior, and a starter on two national title teams[4](https://www.nfl.com/news/mark-barron-in-high-demand-for-safety-starved-nfl-teams-09000d5d8289608d).
Pre-draft evaluation treated him as the top safety of the 2012 class. Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly rated him a top-10 pick after studying five games, describing him as smart, able to handle man coverage against tight ends, exceptional in zone, and a fine tackler who often played linebacker in Alabama's nickel defense[7](https://www.nfl.com/news/draft-s-hottest-prospect-mark-barron-s-worth-a-top-10-pick-09000d5d82867c8c). He missed the [NFL Scouting Combine](https://www.edgepedia.org/nfl-scouting-combine) that year after undergoing double hernia surgery[8](https://www.nfl.com/news/top-safety-barron-reportedly-out-of-combine-after-hernia-surger-09000d5d826d98e3).
## NFL career
**Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012–2014).** [The Buccaneers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-buccaneers) selected Barron seventh overall in 2012, and he started all 16 games as a rookie at strong safety, recording 83 tackles, one interception, and 10 passes defensed[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career). He was named to the All-Rookie Team[9](https://athlonsports.com/nfl/2012-nfl-draft-revisited). Midway through the 2014 season, [Tampa Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/tampa-bay) traded him to the [St. Louis Rams](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-louis-rams) for draft picks; at the time of the trade he had three interceptions over 37 starts in Tampa Bay[10](https://www.nfl.com/news/buccaneers-trade-safety-mark-barron-to-rams-for-picks-0ap3000000419401).
**St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2014–2018).** Barron arrived as a safety, but his position changed in Week 4 of the 2015 season, when linebacker Alec Ogletree fractured his leg and the Rams moved Barron from package-duty safety into Ogletree's Will linebacker spot during the game. He led the Rams in tackles that season with 135, and linebacker became his permanent position[11](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense). Under coordinator [Wade Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/wade-phillips)'s 2017 conversion of the Rams' defense to a 3-4 hybrid, Barron and Alec Ogletree served as the inside linebackers in a front seven built around [Aaron Donald](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-donald)[12](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/03/nfl/1501774006_105389.html). His tackle totals with the Rams rose to 115 in 2016, with 77 in 14 games in 2017 and 53 in 12 games in 2018[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career). A 2017 [Achilles tendon](https://www.edgepedia.org/achilles-tendon) injury cost him some important games[13](https://as.com/us/2019/03/17/nfl/1552861117_974471.html), and he reached Super Bowl LIII with the Rams on February 3, 2019, a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots[11](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense). The Rams released him after the 2018 season[11](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense).
**Pittsburgh Steelers (2019).** In March 2019 the Steelers signed Barron to a two-year contract worth $12 million[13](https://as.com/us/2019/03/17/nfl/1552861117_974471.html). He played linebacker and expected an every-down role, saying "I am a versatile guy. I feel like I can do whatever is needed"[11](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense). He appeared in 15 games in 2019 with 74 tackles, three sacks, one interception, and three passes defensed[3](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career).
## The safety-to-linebacker transition
Barron's move from safety to linebacker reflected a broader NFL trend of the period: bigger safeties were being deployed as linebackers, as an NFC personnel director explained when discussing the shrinking supply of prototype safety prospects entering the league[4](https://www.nfl.com/news/mark-barron-in-high-demand-for-safety-starved-nfl-teams-09000d5d8289608d). At 6-2 and 230 pounds Barron was on the smaller side for a linebacker, and he described compensating with toughness, physicality, and understanding of leverage: "If you are a smaller guy and you have a 300-pound lineman coming at you, you have to use your leverage or your speed"[11](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense). Across the change he remained a productive tackler, finishing his career with 710 stops by one count[9](https://athlonsports.com/nfl/2012-nfl-draft-revisited).
## Background and community work
Barron grew up in the Bessemer projects in Prichard, Alabama, raised by his mother, Michelle Barron, along with two older sisters and a younger brother, and spent much of his childhood at his grandmother's house[14](https://www.steelers.com/news/i-want-to-be-that-light). He attended St. Paul's Episcopal High School in Mobile, where he was classmates with future Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, and has said the contrast between that environment and his neighborhood was a motivator[14](https://www.steelers.com/news/i-want-to-be-that-light). His draft profile also noted a five-star prospect ranking, a 1,094-yard, 15-touchdown senior rushing season, and multiple Alabama Class 5A individual state track titles in events from shot put to long jump[15](https://www.huddle.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017_GR_10_LA.pdf).
In the NFL he has hosted an annual free youth football camp in Mobile and an annual [Thanksgiving](https://www.edgepedia.org/thanksgiving) turkey giveaway, framing the work as giving children in his hometown a visible example of what is possible[14](https://www.steelers.com/news/i-want-to-be-that-light).
## References
1. [Mark Barron Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College, Pro Football Reference](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarrMa00.htm)
2. [Mark Barron: St. Paul's Episcopal to the NFL, Alabama Prep Football](https://alabamaprepfootball.com/player/mark-barron/)
3. [Mark Barron Career Stats, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/players/mark-barron/stats/career)
4. [Mark Barron in high demand for safety-starved NFL teams, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/mark-barron-in-high-demand-for-safety-starved-nfl-teams-09000d5d8289608d)
5. [2012 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Mark Barron, WalterFootball](https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2012mbarron.php)
6. [2010 Alabama Football Media Guide, Player Bios, rolltide.com](https://rolltide.com/documents/download/2010/12/28/2010-c1b-media-guide.pdf)
7. [Draft's hottest prospect: Mark Barron's worth a top-10 pick, NFL.com (Charley Casserly)](https://www.nfl.com/news/draft-s-hottest-prospect-mark-barron-s-worth-a-top-10-pick-09000d5d82867c8c)
8. [Top safety Barron reportedly out of combine after hernia surgery, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/top-safety-barron-reportedly-out-of-combine-after-hernia-surger-09000d5d826d98e3)
9. [2012 NFL Draft Revisited, Athlon Sports](https://athlonsports.com/nfl/2012-nfl-draft-revisited)
10. [Buccaneers trade safety Mark Barron to Rams for picks, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/buccaneers-trade-safety-mark-barron-to-rams-for-picks-0ap3000000419401)
11. [Barron: 'I can do whatever is needed', Steelers.com](https://www.steelers.com/news/barron-added-to-the-defense)
12. [Así los veo: previa NFL 2017 de Los Angeles Rams, AS.com](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/03/nfl/1501774006_105389.html)
13. [Mark Barron, nuevo linebacker de los Pittsburgh Steelers, AS.com](https://as.com/us/2019/03/17/nfl/1552861117_974471.html)
14. ['I want to be that light', Steelers.com](https://www.steelers.com/news/i-want-to-be-that-light)
15. [Los Angeles Rams 2017 Game Release, Week 10 player biography section, huddle.org](https://www.huddle.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017_GR_10_LA.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Safeties › Surnames A to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license