“Refurbished shoulder” - Jordyn Brooks
With the 27th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seahawks selected Jordyn Brooks, a menacing linebacker out of Texas Tech. While many Seahawk fans doubted the pick, as we often do in the current Seahawks era, Pete Caroll and John Schneider have had their reasons and a master plan that can leave fans holding their breath. Brooks is the first linebacker the Seahawks have drafted in the first round since 2009 when they selected Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest. Interestingly, Curry also happens to be a new-hire for the Seahawks as a defensive assistant coach as of this year.
What some people might not know is that Brooks has a history of two serious shoulder injuries involving the glenoid His most recent surgery cut his senior year short and caused him to omit most of the combine outside of his body measurements and the 40-yd dash (which he clocked a respectable 4.54 seconds). Of note, he had surgery just 3 months prior to the NFL combine and had only started running one week before he was clocked at this time. Think about that! He had not trained whatsoever for the combine due to his focus on rehab after surgery and still scored in the 80th percentile among his peers for his 40-yd time. This coincides with the defend every blade of grass mentality that the Seahawks are known for having. They are hoping with the additions of players like Brooks that the team can improve on one of their worst defensive performances in over a decade.
Brooks is known for being a tough defender who is no stranger to playing through pain as reported by his Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells. He had been dealing with his shoulder pain for quite some time before he actually got surgery to repair a torn labrum. The glenoid labrum in the shoulder serves a few purposes. The first is to increase the depth of the glenohumeral joint and increase the surface area between the humeral head and the shoulder blade. The glenohumeral joint is very mobile and benefits from the stability of surrounding muscles and ligaments. The next is to provide a level of “viscoelastic piston effect” to reduce vertical and horizontal pulling and pushing forces on the arm. Think of this as a suction cup phenomenon to help keep the shoulder joint secured correctly. Lastly, the labrum also serves as a major attachment point for several ligaments and the surrounding capsule of the joint. When injured, the labrum can cause catching, clicking and/or pain when reaching for a tackle or going up for an interception. It will be interesting to see as the NFL preseason approaches, how much Brooks’ shoulder will impact him. Shoulder injuries involving the labrum are far too common in the NFL, and many players make a full recovery.
What we do know is that Brooks has an absolute knack for finding the football. He was a consistent solo tackler throughout his tenure in college and ended up in the top 10 for total tackles in school history. He has a bias towards more run defending style and is improving his pass coverage defense, but is not afraid to take a leadership role and call the shots from the middle of the defense. He has a team-first mentality and his raw athleticism and character should be a nice addition to the Seahawks locker room.