One of the great things about NFL training camps every year is getting to watch players come out of nowhere and grab roster spots. The undrafted free agents are the longest shots of all.
The Washington Commanders might have one of those long shot success stories on the roster in UDFA wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, who Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski projected to land on the 53-man roster out of training camp.
Brooks led Louisville with 61 receptions for 1,013 yards and 9 touchdowns in just 11 games in 2024.
“(Brooks) will be helped tremendously by the fact he does have some punt and kick return experience between his two stops at Alabama and Louisville,” Sobleski wrote on July 24. “Furthermore, Brooks emerged as a top target after transferring and led the Cardinals last season with 61 receptions for 1,013 yards and nine touchdown grabs. If Brooks ran a little faster and didn’t deal with a shoulder injury in 2023, he could have easily been drafted.”
Commanders Have Top 4 WR Spots Locked Up
On paper, it seems like the Commanders have their top 4 spots at wide receiver locked up with a pair of NFL All-Pros in Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, followed by Noah Brown and Luke McCaffrey.
That puts Brooks in the hunt for one of the projected 2 remaining spots at the position.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski singled out Brooks as Washington’s “Most Exciting” undrafted free agent option in 2025 following minicamp. The best chance for Brooks to make the roster is probably to establish himself as a special team ace.
Bleacher Report’s Damian Parson had Brooks projected as a sixth or seventh round pick. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein had him projected as a priority free agent.
Brooks almost certainly would have been drafted were it not for a disastrous 40-yard dash in the pre-draft process. He clocked in at a sluggish 4.68 seconds, which is a time more in line with a tight end than a wide receiver.
“Brooks has good size and average speed,” Zierlein wrote. “He’s a decent athlete with the length and ball skills to have success downfield. He’s not going to outrun many NFL corners on a sprint … The touchdown production and yards per catch are favorable, but Brooks might have to fight for a back-end spot on a roster.”
Injury Led to Brooks Leaving SEC Powerhouse
Brooks seemed destined to become an NFL draft pick after a promising sophomore season at Alabama, with 39 receptions for 674 yards and a team-high 8 touchdowns in 2022. He saw his role diminished due to a shoulder injury in 2023, when he had just 3 receptions for 30 yards and no touchdowns before he transferred to Louisville.
“He’s been hurt, which has contributed to his (smaller) role to some degree,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban told The Tuscaloosa News in November 2023. “But he’s been great. He’s done a great job on special teams. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s going into the game and doing a really good job of doing what he needs to do. He got his shoulder banged up, which has been a little bit of an issue for him all year.”
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