Seahawks first-round pick Jordyn Brooks continuing to progress in rookie season
For all of the more troublesome developments in the Seahawks’ stunning loss to the Giants on Sunday, there were a few bright spots.
This year’s first-round draft pick, Jordyn Brooks, was certainly one of them.
“I thought Jordyn Brooks really showed up,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on a Zoom call with reporters this week. “I think this was by far his best game.”
In his third defensive start of the season, the rookie linebacker from Texas Tech, who the Seahawks selected at No. 27 overall last spring, posted career-highs in both defensive snap counts (43) and tackles (11).
“He played hard,” Carroll said. “He had some great plays in this game. … There were four or five really beautiful tackles at the line of scrimmage, coming off blocks and fitting into the running game.
“He played like a real veteran in this game. He was confident and physical, and he and Bobby were banging folks. It was really great to see.”
Carroll said this is how he thinks Brooks is going as he continues to get more familiar with Seattle’s defense.
“We’ve been really excited about him, and those plays show you why,” Carroll said.
Brooks, who had 27 tackles across his first seven games this season, just continues to progress each week.
“I’m just getting a lot more comfortable,” Brooks said. “That comes with more games, more reps, practice. Then obviously the guys in the room, that’s been helping me, and then my coaches. So, all that in one has just been allowing me to play a little bit faster.”
Veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner has seen Brooks’ confidence grow each game.
“The things I see him doing more now is being more aggressive coming downhill, being more decisive about his reads, trusting his reads, trusting he’s seeing the things that he’s seeing and taking his chance — whether it’s in the pass game or definitely in the run game,” Wagner said.
“In the beginning maybe he was trying to make sure he was doing everything right and kind of making sure he’s in the right space, and I feel like now it’s more so trusting that you’re in the right space, trusting that you are making that right decision and just pulling the trigger.
“I think that’s what you saw last game. He just came downhill and he’s making a lot of good plays.”
Wagner can remember a few plays this season when Brooks have shown glimpses of the linebacker he could become.
There was a play in the third quarter against New York when Brooks “hit the guard, threw him off and then made the tackle,” Wagner said. There was another in Arizona when “a guard was about to block (Brooks) and he did this move with his shoulders where he ducked underneath the guard and made the tackle.”
“Some things like that you just don’t teach,” Wagner said. “That’s just natural ability. So, just trying to get him to the point where he trusts that natural ability that he has, that’s in him, is going to take him a long way, and he’s going to be a great player for this league.”
Brooks has leaned on veteran linebackers Wagner (in his ninth season in the NFL) and KJ Wright (10th) to navigate his first season in the league, and said one piece of advice from Wagner in particular has stuck out.
“The thing he’s been constantly preaching to me this whole season is just be me,” Brooks said. “Don’t go out there and try to be anybody else. Just play my game and the best version of me would be good enough.”
Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., also a former linebacker, has seen Brooks continue to gather information throughout the season, ask better questions and make better decisions in-game as he transitions from a standout college career.
“I’m really excited about his development so far and it’s only going to get better,” Norton said.
As Brooks continues to progress, Norton said, as with any young linebacker, there are certain characteristics that will consistently show up in games.
“It’s all about the decision-making,” Norton said. “You have so much information in your mind, you have so many different techniques, so many different voices and you want to do so well because you understand that he’s a first-round pick and he’s played at a certain high level for so long. He has such high expectations for himself and he wants to prove to everybody exactly who he is.
“So, it comes down to gathering information, being able to get confident in what you’re learning, have the guys around you trust you and then decision-making. … You’ll see clear decision-making. It won’t be a puzzle. It won’t be a situation where he’s not quite sure. When you see clear run forward, run back, shooting gaps, covering the right guys, you’ll see a speed show up.
“He’s a guy that’s so explosive. When you feel that explosiveness and you see it jump off the tape and off the screen it will be undeniable.”
The Seahawks are already starting to see that explosiveness, and Brooks said the game has slowed down for him gradually as the season has gone on.
“He’s been playing better and better every week, and I’m excited to see his growth,” Wagner said.
