Arizona Cardinals seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft

Antoine Brooks Jr. was probably the best defensive back in the Maryland secondary for the last two seasons. His senior year in 2019 was diminished when the team decided to make him a de-facto slot cornerback. Which was a shame really because this kid played strong safety as intensely as anyone at the college level. While having a well-rounded defensive back that can play slot cornerback is advantageous, watching Brooks play in the box in 2018 was watching a savant in his element.

As a blitzer, Brooks played with a level of intensity that few blockers could match. Offensive lineman had trouble blocking him coming down the field, while tight ends were all but useless against him when he was blitzing at full speed. In 2018, he led the team with 9.5 tackles for a loss, along with 2.5 sacks, one interception, three pass breakups along with 68 tackles.

In 2019, falling more into coverage, Brooks still shined on the Maryland defense. This past season he led the Big Ten and was ninth in the country on average solo tackles a game with 5.8, according to the team’s website. According to ESPN, he was 12th in the country with 67 solo tackles, along with 1 interception and 5 passes deflected in 2019. Brooks was an impressive slot cornerback; he just excelled playing as a box safety.

For the Arizona Cardinals, he would function as a sort of swiss army knife, falling back to help Patrick Peterson and Byron Murphy when needed in coverage, or moving up to help Jordan Hicks in the box. His speed and tackling abilities would be an excellent addition to help both sides of the defense.