Dallas Cowboys select Jalen Brooks in seventh round of 2023 NFL Draft
The Dallas Cowboys have selected Jalen Brooks with the No. 244 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The former South Carolina standout will now take his talents to the NFL and look to earn a role on offense as wide receiver.
Brooks finished the 2022 college season with 33 receptions for 504 yards and a touchdown, adding 51 rushing yards and a touchdown. In his Gamecocks career, which included 22 games, the wide receiver racked up 55 catches in total.
He was now highly recruited in the class of 2018 after starring at Hickory Ridge (NC). Brooks was an unranked recruit but worked his way through the ranks after starting at Division II Wingate.
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Jalen Brooks
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein broke down what Jalen Brooks can bring to the NFL in his recent scout of the wide receiver’s draft profile. The analyst believes the South Carolina product did not rank him among those with late-round grades but did believe he would become a priority undrafted free agent.
The report revealed what Brooks can bring a team at the next level.
“Brooks was not granted eligibility by the NCAA until the fifth game of the 2020 season and he stepped away from the South Carolina program for the second half of the 2021 season,” wrote Zierlein. “Those missed games help explain his limited college production, but his 2022 game film — when he started 12 games — failed to stand out. However, his play strength and ball skills are clearly noticeable on tape. He’s a high-cut, leggy route runner who struggles to outmaneuver coverage getting in and out of breaks. He’s highly competitive on 50/50 balls and has run-after-catch talent to have his moments in the open field, but his poor speed testing at the NFL Scouting Combine could be tough for him to overcome.”
Zierlein also broke down what Brooks’ greatest strengths and weaknesses are at this point.
Brooks’ strengths include: “Favorable blend of size and strength, strong hands help ball skills stand out, high-points and gloves the football with extension, agility and athleticism to pick throws off his back hip, adjusts speed to keep deep balls on target, combative once the ball is in his hands.”
Brooks’ weaknesses include: “Marginal production at South Carolina, including just two receiving touchdowns in 24 games, inefficient footwork in releasing against press, outside release can be road-blocked by athletic press, high-cut and leggy when trying to uncover underneath, upright with sluggish change of direction in his routes, occasional imbalance before and after the catch.”