Keith Brooking

Brooking didn't miss a beat in his first season with Dallas, racking up his usual 100+ tackles and adding three sacks and a career-high seven passes defended. Second-round pick Sean Lee will push him aside eventually, but Brooking's job in the middle of the Cowboys' 3-4 should be safe for 2010.

The durable Brooking, who hasn't missed a game since becoming a starter, recorded his eighth straight 100+ tackle season for Atlanta in 2008, but showed signs of slowing down as his 102 tackles were his lowest total since 2004, and he failed to get a sack for the first time since 2003. The Cowboys, looking to fill a hole at ILB in their 3-4 defense, signed him to a three-year deal, a role that should allow him to reach triple-digits in tackles once again. Age and the change of scenery make him more of an IDP bye-week fill-in than the automatic starter he was in his prime, however.

Brooking has been a solid IDP option for years as he is a lock to top the century mark in tackles each season. Atlanta drafted Curtis Lofton this year to man the middle and Brooking is expected to slide over to the weak side position. His tackle total may take a hit, but Brooking should still be a solid option.

It really doesn't matter where you put Brooking—he always succeeds. After three stellar years as Atlanta's middle linebacker from 2001 to 2003, he moved to the weak side and predictably logged fewer tackles, but the position switch worked awfully well with his overplaying style. The past few years, he has switched between the middle and weak side spots due to teammates‘ injuries. With Ed Hartwell gone, Brooking slides back to the middle this year where he can use his brute strength and ability to shed blocks to get through traffic to the ball. He can pass rush and still has speed to play man coverage, as a steady stream of sacks and interceptions attest. With six consecutive 100-tackle seasons, Brooking is a Top 10 pick. His durability (six straight years without missing a game) and playmaking seal the deal.

Brooking’s year was a little confounding. After three consecutive seasons of more than 100 solo tackles as Atlanta’s middle linebacker, Brooking slid over to the weak side in 2004. Predictably, his tackling dipped to the high 80s with the fewer chances, but the playmaking increased given the lighter blocking free-ranging weak-siders face. In 2003 in the middle, he had no sacks or picks and in 2004 he had 2.5 sacks and three interceptions from the weak side. That’s the way these two positions classically play out. Brooking split time between the two spots in 2005, switching from weak side to the middle when Ed Hartwell went down for the year. Sure, his sack rate was higher during the five games on the weak side, as it should be, but he actually did better with picks and worse with tackling when he moved inside. Go figure. He’s awfully aggressive, which can pull him out of position, but does pay off in playmaking. His full-year numbers look much like those for 16 games on the weak side and offer an excellent guide to 2006. (Hartwell is expected back, slotting Brooking back at the weak side again.) After the 2.5 sacks and three picks in 2004, we were wary of his ability to continue the playmaking, but he beat both totals in 2005. He’ll need similar numbers to remain elite in 2006, but if anything, Brooking has proven he thrives no matter where he plays.

Brooking slid over to the weak side from the middle linebacker position in 2004 and predictably saw his tackle numbers drop while his playmaking went up. The 2003 campaign was his third straight year with 100-plus solo tackles in the middle position, but he had no sacks or picks. With the move, he saw less blocking and thrived with rejuvenated playmaking. Relying on five or more combined sacks and interceptions to be in the top 10 can be risky business, and lower tackle numbers mean fantasy points aren’t as consistent from week to week, but Brooking had only one game under four fantasy points all year. Be sure to monitor his recovery from the removal of loose cartilage in his left knee.

Brooking is a tackling machine. He led the league in solo tackles with 126 in 2003 and is as durable as they come, starting 16 games in each of the past three years and reaching 100 solo stops in each. Any man who fractures three vertebrae without missing a game can be on our team. His lack of sacks or interceptions (none and none, respectively, in 2003) is of concern should there be tactical or personnel changes in the Atlanta defense that would bring his tackle opportunities down. We don’t see that happening.

Brooking finished second in the NFL last season with 111 solo tackles and notched two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. While Brooking failed to record a sack, the durable middle linebacker should be counted on for another big tackle season as he almost never comes off the field when opposing teams have the ball.