Darrell Brooks S 6'1 210 Arizona
By: Robert Davis

Darrell Brooks is one of the more active safeties in college football. In four years, his lowest tackle amount was 50, and that was as a freshman. As a sophomore he finished the season with 79 tackles with 3.5 coming for a loss. In 2004, he had 73 tackles, 4.5 of them for loss, with two interceptions. He was all over the place again as a senior, finishing with a career high 93 tackles, while picking off two passes.

Brooks is an aggressive safety that is at his best attacking the line of scrimmage. He wants to hit someone, and hit them hard. He flies around the field making plays near the line of scrimmage or deep in coverage. His tackle numbers are awesome for a safety. Brooks has very good instincts and reads the play quickly, and heads up field without hesitation. He is an excellent tackler in the open field, and always lays the lumber.

Brooks has played free safety mostly in college, but projects to the strong side in the NFL. He is great in the running game, but could use work in deep coverage. He will get too aggressive at times and bite on play action in an effort to hit someone. When asked to cover, he plays a bit stiff and loses a step when forced to turn and cover. Brooks also does not make enough plays on the ball. He puts himself in position to make plays, but he is more interested in the hit than the play. He has to become more of a playmaker.

This year's safety class has excellent star power at the top, and excellent depth, so it hurts a player like Brooks. He isn't the standout athlete or playmaker to draw prime interest early on in the draft. He is a player you can count on though. He will go out there and play hard, and be in on a lot of plays in front of him. If you need a safety that wants to attack, Brooks would be a good fit. He likely won't hear his name called before the fourth round, but he is a player that may outperform his draft position.