The Draft Network’s Justin Melo reports that the New Orleans Saints are one of at least five teams to schedule a formal facility visit with Bowling Green defensive lineman Karl Brooks — which is notable because teams are only allowed to host 30 prospects on such private meetings at their headquarters each year.
Brooks weighed in at 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds at the Senior Bowl, measuring out well with 32 3/8-inch arms and an impressive 77 3/4-inch wingspan. He used his size to great effect for Bowling Green over the last five years, playing his best football in 2022; Pro Football Focus charting credited him with 69 quarterback pressures and 36 defensive stops. He’s a very active, disruptive lineman up front.
His exact fit in the NFL is going to be interesting. Brooks has the size to play inside at defensive tackle, but he was lined up predominately out on the edge in college (doing so on 1,469 of his 2,435 career defensive snaps), and he showed the lower-body flexibility to turn the corner and get low against pro-quality offensive tackles at the Senior Bowl.
The Saints probably want to bring Brooks in to go through further athletic testing and position drills to best determine his fit in their system. He was snubbed by the annual NFL Scouting Combine, so they won’t get an opportunity to put him through his paces until his March 20 pro day. Right now he’s projected to be picked in the third or fourth round of April’s draft.
