Oisín McConville believes Derry would cause major problems for Dublin and Kerry should they meet in this year's All-Ireland championship.
After an extra-time game on Sunday afternoon, which was far from easy on the eye, Derry defeated Donegal 1-16 to 1-14 to win their first Ulster title since 1998.
"They've arrived at a good time," said McConville on BBC Northern Ireland when asked if Derry are All-Ireland contenders.
"Dublin are not the same as they were. Kerry are not this dominant force that people think they are. Tyrone... You look at the obvious teams that you think about, and you think 'Can Derry challenge them?' Play like that against a Kerry or a Dublin and they will cause them a huge amount of problems.
"They may be a little bit off it, but they sprung a lot of players from the bench today that hadn't got any championship time whatsoever, and they actually did quite well. It's building, it's a process, and I think they're getting there."
'Derry will certainly set their sights on an All-Ireland'
Peter Canavan said that this year's draw favours Derry.
"Derry will certainly set their sights on an All-Ireland because they avoid Dublin and Kerry," said Canavan.
"I think the Ulster champions play the Connacht champions [if they both win their quarter-finals]. They'll certainly not be fearing Galway if Galway get that far.
"Absolutely, they have the wherewithal, they have the leaders on the pitch, and a man in charge who knows absolutely what he's doing with this team, and is getting the very best out of them."
Mickey Harte added: "The last few clips there epitomised what this Derry team is all about, and what Gaelic football is about nowadays: Number three going up and scoring a wonderful in the death of the game, and number 14 catching a ball under his own crossbar.
"That's what the game is about now, numbers don't mean anything. It's about players who want to do what they can for the greater cause."
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