This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. We look at running back Jonathon Brooks and how he fits with the Carolina Panthers.
Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.
Let’s dig in.
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Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
The Carolina Panthers have injected a dose of talent into their backfield, selecting University of Texas RB Jonathon Brooks with the 46th overall pick of the draft.
Perhaps the biggest drawback with Brooks is that he’s coming off a major knee injury. He tore his right ACL against TCU On Nov. 11. Early reports indicate that Brooks will be ready for training camp, though it’s unclear if Brooks will be able to participate in contact drills.
Even if Jonathon Brooks is deemed to be fully healthy, it’s possible the Panthers will exercise an abundance of caution with their new RB in his rookie year, limiting his workload. It’s also possible Brooks won’t be at the height of his powers less than a year removed from knee surgery — which wouldn’t be the first time a running back was at less than 100% immediately upon returning from a torn ACL.
Were it not for the knee injury, Brooks may have been the near-unanimous RB1 in this rookie class. He served a two-year apprenticeship behind star Texas RB Bijan Robinson and primary backup Roschon Johnson, but when Brooks got his chance to start in 2023, he was ready.
Brooks ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games for the Longhorns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He added 25 receptions for 286 yards and one touchdown.
The 6-0, 216 pound Brooks is quick-footed and slippery, and his jump cuts can leave defenders grasping at air. Although he may not having blazing straight-line speed, Brooks has impressive acceleration and can dart around like a water bug. Jonathon Brooks demonstrated proficiency as a pass catcher in his 11 games as a starter at Texas, and he has room for growth in that area.
There are few, if any, glaring weaknesses in Brooks’ game. He doesn’t run with a great deal of power, and it’s possible he’ll start the season closer to his college playing weight of 207 pounds rather than his combine weight of 216. With only one year as a college starter, Brooks can’t match the experience of some of the other running backs in the class.
Jonathon Brooks could quickly ascend a Panthers RB depth chart that currently has Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders at the top. He’s a better prospect than either Hubbard or Sanders was, and Sanders was considered a major disappointment last season. Carolina is a good landing spot in terms of opportunity, but it’s not the healthiest offensive ecosystem. The Panthers ranked dead last in offensive yardage last season and tied the Patriots for last in points scored.
Before the draft, Brooks had a FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking of RB51 in half-point PPR redraft leagues, and he had an Underdog best-ball ADP of RB33. I tentatively have him ranked RB38 for redraft.
If Brooks gets a clean bill of health before your fantasy draft, he’s worth something close to his Underdog ADP, which would put him in midrange RB3 territory. Obviously, potential investors will have to carefully monitor his health status in late July and August.
For dynasty, I have Brooks ranked RB23 overall and RB1 in the rookie class. In 1QB rookie drafts, Brooks is likely to go somewhere from the middle of the first round to the early part of the second round. In superflex rookie drafts, it’s possible Brooks will sneak into the back end of the first round, but he’s more likely to go in the early to middle part of the second round.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Jonathon Brooks (Texas)
6003/216 | RAS: N/A
Player Comparison: Smaller Aaron Jones
Brooks spent his first two years on campus stuck behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. Last summer, he beat out a pair of five-star prospects to win the RB1 role in Texas. Brooks proceeded to have his national coming out party, averaging over 140 scrimmage yards per game through the first 10 contests of the season.
Unfortunately, Brooks tore his ACL against TCU on November 11. That injury complicates his evaluation. Brooks enters the NFL with a 10-game sample of strong tape but without a pre-draft process.
Brooks has very good feet. His best trait is his slipperiness at his size. Brooks is capable of stringing together combinations of moves in space to evade defenders. He’s a smooth-moving glider.
Brooks punches the gas and reaches top speed very quickly when he sees his opening. He can capitalize on openings by threatening them instantaneously with his upfield explosion. Quicker than fast, Brooks is the type of runner who profiles to hit a bunch of doubles but not many dingers at the next level.
He typically makes good decisions behind the line but there are instances of Brooks pressing the issue prematurely instead of working with his offensive line to set up blocks.
Brooks has very good body control and can force off-angle and arm-tackle attempts he can run through. But he’s dead-to-rights on direct contact with form. Brooks weighed in at 216 pounds during the pre-draft process but was listed at 207 at Texas. I expect him to play at a weight closer to his Texas listing.
You’d like to see him be a bit more aggressive into contact, or plunge into the muck with leg drive more often to take the yards available to him instead of always hunting for that opening to exploit into the second level — sometimes those openings never develop and he’s swallowed up still searching for it.
Perhaps improvement will come in the instinct department with more experience. Remember, Brooks only started 10 full games in college. But, at present, this is an area of his game that might initially frustrate his NFL coaches as it will lead to drives getting behind the sticks too often for comfort at the NFL level.
Brooks is usable on passing downs but may not be a value-add early on. He has reliable, soft hands, but is not a dynamic receiver out of the backfield capable of running a full complement of routes. In pass-pro, Brooks has shown to be willing but needs work on his technique. He can get in trouble when he tries to lunge into pass-rushers coming downhill, leading to whiffing the target.
Brooks said earlier this month that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery and will be ready for NFL training camp in late July. He’s a top-three back in this class but, in my opinion, he doesn’t offer the ceiling of the two runners ranked ahead of him.
Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Our analysts provide their latest rookie draft rankings below. And also check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings!
More Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- DBro’s Top 50 Rankings & Player Notes
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