Monday morning, it was Karl coaching Karl. Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line coach Karl Dunbar is at Bowling Green University today, putting DT Karl Brooks through his Pro Day workout.
The Bowling Green Twitter account shared this clip of Brooks going through drills. You can see Dunbar to the left, putting him through the paces.
Brooks was arguably this year’s biggest Combine snub, one of just a few of Senior Bowl participants who didn’t receive an invite to Indianapolis.
At the Senior Bowl, Brooks weighed in at 6033, 303 pounds with 32 1/4 inch arms. He blew up in 2022, finishing the year with 50 tackles, including a whopping 18 for a loss, and 10 sacks. Over his final two seasons, he racked up 92 tackles, 30.5 for a loss, with 17.5 sacks, heavy production for any interior defensive linemen.
His career stats offer a colorful line: Forty-six tackles for loss, 27.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, five pass deflections, and even an interception he returned for 33 yards back in 2019. Brooks, a two-time captain, was also regarded as a leader.
Pittsburgh is almost certain to address the defensive line in the draft, potentially adding a starting nose tackle and depth behind DTs Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi. The Steelers have shown lots of interest at the position, doing their homework on Clemson’s Bryan Bresee and Michigan’s Mazi Smith (they have a pre-draft visit scheduled with Florida’s Gervon Dexter).
Now add Brooks to the list.
Brooks is projected to be an early Day Three pick but it’s not out of the question he could be in play for Pittsburgh at No. 80, its lone selection in the third round. We’ll have a full draft profile on Brooks before next month’s draft.
