RB, Oklahoma
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 215 lbs
Class: rs-Junior
A four-star recruit in the 2017 class, Brooks received 13 offers from schools including Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin. After redshirting his freshman season, he shared the Sooners’ backfield with future 49ers back Trey Sermon. Brooks opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before returning in 2021 and rushing for 1,255 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Strengths
Brooks’ biggest strength as a draft prospect is his contact balance. This ranks amongst the best in the class and he is incredibly tough to bring down once he has built up some momentum. You rarely see him go down on first contact and he does an excellent job of keeping his balance and churning his feet for extra yardage. This has been a big part of his game ever since his true freshman season. He has averaged an incredible 4.15 yards after contact per carry and forced 148 missed tackles on 471 career attempts.
He pairs this with great vision as a runner. Brooks has an instinctive feel for the position and is quick to diagnose potential cutback opportunities. He shows good patience at the line of scrimmage, allowing his blocks to develop before hitting the hole. Oklahoma gave him a fairly even mix of gap and zone scheme runs and his vision was excellent regardless. This carries over to the second level too, where he is capable of weaving through traffic to create big plays.
Teams are also going to love Brooks’ record of production. He has exceeded 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons with the Sooners. He has also averaged an absurd seven yards per carry throughout his career, with 31 touchdowns. Brooks has proven himself to be a consistent big play threat too, with 20.6% of his career carries going for 10+ yards. The fact that there was no discernible drop in his production this year despite his opt out in 2020 is also impressive.
Last but not least is Brooks’ ball security. He does an excellent job of taking care of the football through contact and shows great strength to shield the ball from defenders. He has just one fumble on his 471 career carries, which came all the way back in 2018. This is easily one of the best fumble rates in this year’s class.
Weaknesses
The biggest concern with Brooks is his effectiveness on third downs. He is limited as a pass catcher, with just 29 career receptions. The vast majority of these have come behind the line of scrimmage and his route tree is limited to swings and flats. He has also had some issues with drops throughout his time at Oklahoma, dropping 12.1% of his catchable targets. This is even more concerning when accounting for his -1.1 average depth of target. His pass protection also leaves a lot to be desired.
Brooks is also a little limited from an athletic standpoint. Whilst his long speed is good, he lacks ideal short area quickness. He is stiff hipped too, and is not particularly sudden when asked to change direction. He is also an older prospect as a fifth year player, turning 24 in his rookie season. Teams will also want to do their due diligence on his off-field history. In 2019, Brooks was accused of physical and mental abuse by a fellow student, although he was later cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation.
Bottom Line
Brooks is a tough and powerful runner, with great contact balance and toughness to create after contact. He pairs this with NFL-level vision and a record of consistent production. His athletic limitations and ineffectiveness on third down will probably mean he is a rotational option at the next level, but he can still be an effective contributor in the NFL.
Ideal role: Rotational back in a gap/power scheme
Projected round: 3rd-4th round
Great content! Keep up the good work!