Leading up to the NFL Draft, it was said that Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks was a late riser, from the third round to the second round, and then as of late, Brooks was rising even more, going from late second round to the top of the second round. The Seattle Seahawks ended up picking Brooks with pick 27 in the first round last night. Brooks talked about being drafted by Seattle:
“I was a little bit surprised it was the Seahawks; I wasn’t surprised about the first round, but was surprised the Seahawks came and got me,” Brooks said. “I hadn’t talked to them since the Combine, so I wasn’t really expecting them to pick me, but I’m forever grateful and excited to get to be there in Seattle.”
And Brooks will be playing along with two All-Pro linebackers in Seattle:
As for playing with Wagner and K.J. Wright, two of the NFL’s best linebackers over the past decade, Brooks said, “I’m excited. This is just a blessing from God. Bobby Wagner is somebody I’ve looked up to since he entered the league, just the guy I put on my pinnacle as the best linebacker in the league. So to get a chance to learn from him, play beside from him, feed off of him, pick his brain, it’s an incredible opportunity for me. And also K.J. Wright, two great linebackers, I’m just excited to play next to those guys and learn and truly develop to be a great linebacker in this league.”
Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said that Brooks checked all of the boxes that the Seahawks were looking for:
“We just found a guy that could check all of the boxes,” Carroll said. “We love his attitude, like John said, it’s just his mentality. He’s just really on it. His versatility—his first couple of years he played outside and in space. This past year, they changed schemes and he was really in a position where he was a lot of the time responsible for the quarterback and would chase the quarterback and spy him. He was up in the line of scrimmage and pressuring so we’ve seen him do a variety of things that give him the scope of ability to play inside or outside for us.
“We’ve got good players inside that we love. We’ve got Bobby and K.J. and we love what they’ve done. We’ll give this guy a chance to see where he can fit in. We’ll work the competition so that we can uncover exactly what’s best. We really think that he’s got a chance to be fighting for playing time right away. Cody Barton did a great job for us last year, so it’ll be a very competitive situation, just like we like. Jordyn is all about competition, he’s got a great head on his shoulders. I really like that he has a lot of respect for Bobby and K.J. He knows of them and he’s followed them and he’s looked up to those guys. The first call I got was from Bobby, he wanted his (contact) information so he could get to him right away. We always need to get faster and get tougher on defense, no matter what spot we’re talking about, and Jordyn fit that perfectly. We’re really excited to add him to our defense.”
Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells was on the phone with Brooks and you can hear Brooks say that he appreciates Wells pushing him so hard to be a leader, which is a pretty cool moment.
You earned it, @JordynBrooks_.
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/1nUQzBI2QE
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) April 24, 2020
Congrats to Jordyn and the Texas Tech football family (that’s intended to be inclusive of everyone who helped Jordyn to this point)!