With Bruce Irvin Out, Jordyn Brooks Primed for Expanded Role with Seahawks
Following a bizarre offseason without OTAs, minicamps, or any preseason games, the Seahawks have been cautious with most of their rookies during the first two weeks of the season.
With the exception of right guard Damien Lewis, a third-round pick out of LSU who has started both of Seattle's games, and receiver Freddie Swain, a sixth-round pick out of Florida who caught his first NFL touchdown on Sunday night, the team hasn't had many contributions from first-year players thus far. In fact, despite having strong training camps last month, running back DeeJay Dallas and defensive end Alton Robinson have both been healthy scratches the past two weeks.
Leaning heavily on veterans, particularly at the linebacker position, the Seahawks hoped to be able to slowly ease first-round pick Jordyn Brooks into game action. With Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Bruce Irvin entrenched in the lineup, the former Texas Tech standout logged 15 defensive snaps the past two weeks, recording a single tackle in limited playing time.
But after Irvin was lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 35-30 win over the Patriots, the Seahawks may not have that luxury anymore. As coach Pete Carroll noted, it may be time for the rookie to be thrown into the gauntlet and learn in a trial by fire.
"He's a really good ballplayer," Carroll said on Monday. "We were trying to bring him along slowly, maybe now we have to give him a little bit more work, but he's ready to do that and excited about that. Mentality is good, tough, and strong. There's no reservations other than it's new, that's all."
While Carroll refused to delve into who may replace Irvin starting next weekend against the Cowboys, he's been impressed by how well Brooks has learned the Seahawks scheme and should be a candidate to fill the void at strongside linebacker. Late in Sunday's game, he received a handful of snaps rushing off the edge as a replacement after the veteran exited.
A four-year starter for the Red Raiders, Brooks played both inside and outside linebacker starring against Big 12 competition, producing 360 combined tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks. Exhibiting the versatility Seattle craves at the position, he earned Second-Team All-American honors as a senior after transitioning inside in a new scheme for a new coaching staff.
While he expects him to take expected rookie lumps, Carroll isn't concerned about Brooks handling the spotlight when called upon. Praising the young linebacker for instincts, toughness, and ability to hit "like a ton of bricks," he's eager to see how he looks once he's unleashed and that time could be coming as early as this week.
"He's ready to play. He's gonna have to struggle through some first-time player type of things that happen to him, but he's so well-equipped, he's so fast, he's really smart, he's natural - it's just football stuff that can happen in formations, shifts, and stuff like that and calls we make and all that can restrict any young guy."
