WHAT YOU ARE GETTING: JONATHAN BROOKS, RUNNING BACK, TEXAS

WELCOME TO CAROLINA, JB!

This guy has great vision and decision making.  He can catch a-la CMC, and when he gets in the open field he is so hard to catch and bring down.

Brooks, whose perseverance was as impressive as his statistics for the Longhorns. Brooks sat behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson for two years, using the time to transform his 6-foot frame from a lean 185 pounds to a muscled 216. After becoming a starter last fall, Brooks ranked in the top five in the country in rushing before tearing his ACL and missing the final three games.


Jonathon Brooks had six 100-yard rushing games — and two others with 98 and 99 yards — last season with Texas before tearing his ACL. (Austin American-Statesman)
“When I got injured, I’d be lying if I said my mind didn’t go everywhere. I didn’t know exactly what was gonna happen instantly. But about a day or two after, my mind got right,” Brooks said. “It’s truly just a blessing for me to still be in this position with my knee.”

Canales said the Panthers researched Brooks’ health and were convinced he’s progressing at the expected pace. Brooks said he recently began running and cutting and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July.

Once healthy, Canales has a lot in mind for him.

“Our system calls for a back that can be used in a traditional way — hand it to him. And then how can we get this player in space?” Canales said. “Being able to get him in perimeter screen, checkdowns. We’ve gotta really cool empty package where we use the backs, flex them out to get matchups. He’s a bigger back. He’s got range. There’s so much that he brings from a versatility standpoint.”

That the first running back didn’t come off the board until 46 — the second-longest wait for a back in draft history behind Bishop Sankey’s selection at 54 in 2014 — is another sign of how the position has been devalued in recent years.

But the Panthers didn’t let that influence their decision to draft Brooks, who joins Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders in a suddenly crowded running backs room.

“We value the running back. We value the run game. To have a guy like Jonathan Brooks there, he was a guy that we loved and identified,” Morgan said. “Listen, as long as we’re happy with who we’re picking value-wise, they’re valuable to us. Because we’re going to be running the ball. We’re going to be a physical team.”

https://theathletic.com/5451706/2024/04/...n-wallace/