Scout Report – Jordyn Brooks

• Position: Inside Linebacker – Hybrid (Mike, Off-ball, Adjuster)
• College: Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Gridiron Guy Position Rank:

Age: N/A | Height: 6’1 | Weight: 245 lbs
NFL Size Comparison: Jon Bostic

LB at a Glance: Aggressive and reliable Interior Linebacker with a nose to stop the run, but will underwhelm in coverage and has a habit of overshooting his responsibility and removing himself from the play

RESUME:

• 100+ Tackle season with 20 TFL
• 3rd most tackles in the Big XII (108)
• 7th most career tackles in the Big XII since 2005 (360)
• 3rd most solo tackles in the Big XII (66)
• 6th most career solo tackles in the Big XII since 2005 (224)
• Most Tackles for Loss in the Big XII (20)
• Best Game: v. #21 Oklahoma State (W 45-35)
  • 19 tackles (8 solo, 11 assists) | 3 sacks | 1 FF
• Worst Game: v. TCU (L 31-33)
  • 4 tackles (2 solo, 2 assists)
• Second team All-American (2019)
• First team All-Big 12 (2019)
• Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2018)

Strengths:

• Plays with a tenacious fire that always keeps him in the play and ready to be impactful
• 4-year starter gives huge benefit in terms of experience
• Size is equal to the NFL average for ILB at 6’1 240 lbs
• Extremely high physical toughness to meet contact with impact and play through with little regard to the offense’s attempts to stop him
• Shows good instincts to play to flow and meet the lead blocker or runner at the line of scrimmage
• Excellent ability to track the runner and keep tabs on ball carrier
• Powerful runner with the leg strength to drive even established OGs back a couple yards
• Has good pursuit speed to stay on the runner when the bounce to the outside, or to chase them to the sideline
• Respectable top speed not to be underestimated 
• Strong grip can bring runners and especially QBs down with just a hand grabbed on
• Great ability to extend body to make tackles, tackle range is above average
• Good footwork and agility to change direction and keep pressure on QBs and RBs who like to dance around a little too much
• Shows signs of his OLB roots with surprisingly good ability to shed the block
• Shows good tackling fundamentals with well placed shoulder pop, strong and swift snap for the wrap up and drive of the feet
• Very reliable tackler, would not worry if he is caught in an open field situation
• No serious concerns of stamina as he proves to be an impactful player each snap
• High usage rate for the Texas Tech defense as Mike, Off-Ball, and Adjuster LBs
• No injuries to note makes for no durability concerns
• Has a nose for finding the hole and plugging himself in there
• Strong initial impact when engaging blocker, can sometimes slip past off impact alone
• Relatively quick mind can diagnose plays at a reasonable speed post-snap
• Play speed is above average compared to others on the field at any given time
• Speed at which he progresses through his reads is adequate, keeping him in the play
• Fundamentally a proactive defender, seeking out the ball rather than waiting for the play to come to him
• Plays with the aggressive nature that comes from a prototypical run stopper
• Does not do anything reckless that would remove him from the play or give the offense something to work with
• Solid angle tackler with the assertiveness to force the ball carrier to react to him
• Keeps a solid base when attacking the ball carrier, makes shaking him when he is tackling difficult
• Has a nice pop with a lunging shoulder to accompany the strong wrap up

Weaknesses:

• Overstrides on his jabsteps when making his initial reads, either flowing himself out of position, or spending too much time floating to be easily evaded by grounded RBs
• Less than ideal angle pursuit can leave him chasing behind runners rather than cutting them off
• Has trouble maintaining favorable positioning when defending the run, either over committing to one side, or working himself out of a play in order to shed a block
• Over shoots his desired positioning on the blitz or outside contain in order to shed blocks
• Suffers lapses in judgement when called to QB spy, will fire the blitz too quickly
• Can be overall impatient when dealing with a shifty QB
• Does not keep himself balanced during lateral movement, making change of direction slower if the runner cuts back
• Lacks any stellar upper body strength to match force at the line of scrimmage on short yard situations
• Inconsistent hand usage on the blitz and shed attempt, sometimes with be active, other times will not even attempt
• Small effective range when dropping back into coverage
• Does not have the awareness to see receivers running into his zone on interior zone assignments
• Just short of a liability on outside zone assignments, as lack of awareness let receivers and TEs slip past him or behind him undetected
• Inconsistent on reading fakes, sometimes seeing them immediately and snuffing them out, other times being fooled and removed from the play
• Plays soft on man coverage, giving his man unnecessary amount of field to work with underneath
• Lacks the field awareness to know where the blockers are, sometimes walking straight into them

Bold Predictions:

• Draft Placement: 2nd Round
• Ceiling: NFL All Pro
• Floor: Sub package