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Green Bay Packers fans rolled their eyes when the team selected another defender in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Never mind that Iowa's Lukas Van Ness was a 6-5, 275-pound, athletic freak.
In the second round, the Packers selection of Michigan State wide receiver Jayden Reed once again boosted fan morale and provided hope of an improved passing attack.
Then came confusion. Green Bay selected South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft in the third round after already having picked Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave a round earlier. But the Packers have never been a team to follow convention when it came to drafting players.
When the draft came to a close, the Packers had chosen seven offensive players (including three wide receivers), five defenders, and a kicker. Players like Van Ness will likely be contributors right away, while others such as Kraft might take a little longer for their role to develop.
Other than wide receiver, another position group that the Packers addressed was the defensive line.
Green Bay's d-line was a weakness last year — giving up at least 200 rushing yards in three games — and it lost two starters in the offseason. Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed left in free agency, leaving 2021 fifth-round pick T.J. Slayton and 2022 first-rounder Devonte Wyatt to pick up the slack.
Neither has quite proven themselves in the NFL yet, which is why the Packers brought in competition via the draft. Green Bay selected Auburn lineman Colby Wooden in the fourth round and Bowling Green's Karl Brooks in round six.
Of these two, Brooks is the most intriguing option.
The NFL will be a significant step up from the Mid-American Conference, but Brooks showed his dominance despite playing at a mid-major.
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Brooks came into his freshman year at Bowling Green as a 230-pound edge rusher and made an immediate impact with 32 total tackles and 3.5 sacks. By the time he was a redshirt senior, Brooks gained 70 pounds of grown-man strength and recorded 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for a loss — both top 10 in the nation.
Pro Football Focus rated him as the nation's top run defender and the number six pass-rusher in terms of win rate. PFF even had Brooks as their 99th-overall ranked player in its draft big board. With all signs pointing to a draft-day steal, Green Bay's director of football operations Milt Hendrickson is certainly excited for Brooks' arrival, via Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.
“There were times when he was a man among boys,” Hendrickson said.
The Lansing, MI now projects as an interior defensive lineman. Despite his size, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy believes Brooks' footwork will prove the Packers right in their draft selection, via Zac Jackson of The Athletic.
“He’s a big man with smaller-man movement,” Nagy said, “and that’s always a cool thing to write in the scouting report for a big defensive lineman. You pay road scouts to find 300-pounders who can move like Karl can because there just aren’t a lot of them.”
Karl Brooks is not the most athletic player, but he offers an effective arsenal of pass-rush moves. He enters mini-camp as the backup behind Kenny Clark at defensive end and has the flexibility to play all across the defensive line — a skill that could be invaluable in his pro career.
With so much uncertainty across the Packers' defensive line, Brooks has the chance to show that his college production translates to the next level.
