The Jets selected Barnes in the sixth round of the NFL Draft, 184th overall.
An off-ball linebacker, Barnes played safety in high school and flashed plus coverage skills at Western Michigan in both 2021 and '22. There's room to improve when it comes to his tackling tackling technique, and it's tough to know if Barnes' 6-foot-1 frame can add more weight (233 pounds) to hold up at the NFL level, but the 23-year-old's versatility is valuable for a Jets defense that hasn't added many pieces throughout the 2023 NFL Draft.