As one NFL season ends, the next is set to begin with the NFL Draft on the horizon. In our latest installment of scouting reports to help guide your fantasy football teams, we look at Oklahoma Sooners RB Kennedy Brooks. What are Brooks’ strengths and weaknesses, which teams could be potential landing spots for him in the NFL Draft, and what is his fantasy outlook?
Kennedy Brooks NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Running Back
- School: Oklahoma
- Current Year: Redshirt Junior
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 215 pounds
- Wingspan: N/A
- Arm: N/A
- Hand: N/A
Kennedy Brooks’ fantasy football scouting report
Brooks is going to divide people. I can feel it coming already. After two seasons of middling play and performance, Brooks rushed for a career-high 1,253 yards and 13 touchdowns after opting out the entire 2020 season. His performance in the Red River Rivalry against Texas was simply dominant, rushing for over 200 yards with 2 touchdowns.
Brooks is a well-built running back and plays like one, showing better-than-average contact balance. But I would not consider him a power back, even though he invites contact. That works in college, but not in the NFL — unless your name is Derrick Henry. Brooks won’t wow you with any athletic trait. He has sufficient vision, which is the main characteristic you look for in an RB when watching tape. After all, if they can’t see the hole, that’s a big problem.
Brooks lacks elite traits and receiving upside
I would consider the rest of Brooks’ rushing traits as average for an NFL RB. He lacks open-field creativity and elusiveness and struggles to make defenders miss aside from raw power when he keeps his feet churning. When they stop, so does the play. From a fantasy standpoint, the biggest detriment for Brooks is he could be considered a liability in the passing game. He struggled with drops in college and never had more than 10 receptions in a single season.
For an RB to have fantasy upside, they need to be involved in the passing game. I don’t envision Brooks finding the requisite utilization. There is also, despite his size, an unwillingness in pass pro to take on a blitzing LB. While pass blocking can be coached in the NFL, willingness comes from the player and is a mindset. Watch Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams for an example of willingness.
Age is also a massive concern. Brooks will turn 24 during his rookie campaign. There are guys in the NFL already looking towards their second contract at that age. He’ll be 28 when that time comes.
A projected Day 3 pick, Brooks fails to check many boxes for a fantasy asset. Based on what I’ve seen on film, I’m shooting for upside in the third and fourth rounds of rookie fantasy/dynasty drafts. Brooks profiles as more of a career backup who might get a game or two as a lead back due to injury. When that happens, I would sell promptly, as it could be a while before it happens again.
Potential landing spots for Brooks
With the NFL Draft closing in, which teams make the most sense for Brooks as projected landing spots? Based on his scouting report, fantasy managers should keep their eye on these NFL franchises come draft day.
Arizona Cardinals
Who is the Cardinals’ RB in 2022? James Conner was on a one-year contract and set to become a free agent, as is Chase Edmonds. Together, they represented 318 of the 361 attempts by Cardinals running backs last year. Arizona could bring Brooks in for depth at the position.
I assume at least one of Conner or Edmonds will return in free agency, and alongside Eno Benjamin, Brooks could be a spell back on first and second downs or in short-yardage situations. He’s not going to be drafted by a team and given a prominent role. However, Brooks would make sense as a depth addition for Arizona.
Houston Texans
Insert any running back’s name here, and I could make a case for Houston to be the landing spot. They are a franchise needing a massive overhaul, and the backfield is no different.
As of right now, the only noteworthy RB left on the roster is Rex Burkhead. David Johnson is set to be a free agent. And at 30 years old, along with his steep decline in production, he should not be back on the team.
Former Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley used a multitude of blocking schemes in the rushing game so Brooks could operate in whatever Texans head coach Lovie Smith chooses to run. With that said, Brooks did find his best success in zone-blocking schemes. Trust me, no one wants him trying to hit the edge. The wheels aren’t there.
Given Burkhead’s ability to work in both the rushing and receiving game, Brooks could take on more of a role on the first two downs and even in goal-to-go packages as he has more power than anyone else on Houston’s current roster. While the Texans are not considered a great landing spot, it would be the best situation for Brooks to find utilization quickly in his career.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Following Tom Brady’s retirement, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now a massive question mark. They built their team on one or two-year contracts for veterans in the hopes of chasing a title, and it worked. Now, those are now expiring.
The depth chart at running back is a prime example of this. Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, Giovani Bernard, and Le’Veon Bell are all slated to hit free agency. This leaves 2020 draft pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn and 31-year-old Kenjon Barner as the only players on the depth chart at RB.
That’s not going to cut it. Given the Buccaneers’ needs and projected cap space (20th in the NFL), the Buccaneers will not use an early pick on the position. Thus, taking Brooks on Day 3 as a rotational back alongside Vaughn would make sense. Head coach Bruce Arians expressed confidence in Vaughn towards the end of the season, so he has the apparent inside track for the No. 1 spot.
I do expect Tampa Bay to add someone else in free agency, but the competition for the No. 2 spot would be relatively wide open. Brooks could see a role similar to Jones’ last season as a two-down RB, with both struggling in the passing game. Sure, the Buccaneers are no longer a title contender, but as far as landing spots go, Tampa Bay is solid for Brooks.