How will Jonathon Brooks' ACL injury affect his 2024 NFL draft? | Yahoo Fantasy Football Show
Yahoo Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon and Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald discuss where they think the Texas running back will end up and how his previous injuries will impact him. Hear the full conversation on the “Yahoo Fantasy Football Show” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
MATT HARMON: When you see Jonathan Brooks as a player, where do you translate him at the running back position?
CHARLES MCDONALD: I tend to think he's the most talented player in the class. I think he's probably the most versatile runner, probably between him and Trey Benson from Florida State for me, just in terms of being able to play--
MATT HARMON: Sure.
CHARLES MCDONALD: --inside, being able to run outside zone, kind of a little bit of everything, and also have some of that home run hitting ability. I think that he's actually-- he's a really talented player. The problem is, you kind of have somewhat of a late season ACL tear. It's hard not to see that affecting his draft status in a way, because I think when you look at running backs, especially guys on their rookie deals, you're trying to get an impact from them as fast as possible, before things start to get bad with them.
Me and my friend Bryce Rossler, who works at Sports Info Solutions, we have a joke. Basically, running back age is measured in carries. And I think that's where you start to get to a point where the rookie contract might be a little muddy. That's probably the most important piece for a running back. Man, when you just watch him play before he got hurt, I thought that he was one of the more complete running back prospects in the draft. And we'll just have to see how much teams value where he is medically versus what he puts on the field.
MATT HARMON: He's on Dallas's radar because I believe the Cowboys doctor did his surgery. Also makes a good point that he's only got 283 college carries. So there's not as much of that. In terms of his carry age, he's pretty young, even though he already comes in with an injury risk. But it's definitely-- I mean, even if he-- let's say he lands with Dallas, a team that's rife with opportunity. Mike Williams said this week, I might be ready by-- I'll be ready by week one. I'm iffy for training camp. And Mike Williams is a guy who tore his ACL in what, like late September, week three of last year?
So I wouldn't just kind of yadda, yadda the fact that he's coming in with an ACL, especially if it's a team like Dallas that drafts him. And then well, we got Rico Dowdle, who's fine, a competent NFL running back. It's just a lot to rely on that guy, I think, as a rookie.
CHARLES MCDONALD: I really do think, if he was healthy, he might be the unquestioned RB1. I almost feel like Jonathan Brooks has probably ended up to be a steal, more so than someone who kicks off the run, because like I said before, the most important thing for a rookie running back is that you can play today.
MATT HARMON: Yeah.
CHARLES MCDONALD: And I'm not sure that that's true for him just yet. But dude, if he gets healthy, I would be stunned if he doesn't have a pretty productive career for as long as his body will allow him to take car crashes every single game.
MATT HARMON: Right, clearly a very, very good back, I think, with a multilayered skill set.