Falcons DB Natrone Brooks Turns 'Small Man Syndrome' into Big Preseason Performance at Ravens

While the Atlanta Falcons fell short Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, one of their lightest players turned in perhaps the biggest performance.

Atlanta Falcons cornerback Natrone Brooks had a strong performance in Saturday's preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. / Jay Bendlin/Atlanta Falcons

Natrone Brooks took his stance on the left side of the Atlanta Falcons secondary, his knees bent, feet together and eyes on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Devin Leary.

As Leary threw the ball to tight end Qadir Ismail in the flat, Brooks broke. On paper, the Falcons' 5-foot-11, 169-pound cornerback had a disadvantage against the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Ismail.

But football isn't played on paper.

With no hesitation, Brooks lowered his pads and launched himself into Ismail. The ball popped out, Ismail went backwards and the Falcons' sideline erupted.

While Atlanta didn't recover the fumble, it forced Baltimore to punt from midfield and gave the ball back to the Falcons' offense with just over three minutes to play in Saturday's preseason game.

The tackle was No. 13 of the day for Brooks, who starred in Atlanta's 13-12 loss inside M&T Bank Stadium. It was also symbolic of who -- and what -- Brooks is.

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"I know most people look at my size and think, 'Let's attack this guy,' but it’s like I have small man syndrome," Brooks said after the game. "I know people are going to try and attack me, but I got the dog in me to just show you, like, 'Okay, I'm physical. I’m still physical at 169 [pounds].'"

Preseason production is nothing new for Brooks.

Last year, after arriving as an undrafted free agent from the University of Southern Mississippi, he finished his rookie exhibition slate with 14 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pair of pass deflections across three games.

He nearly matched his tackle total in Saturday's game alone and drew praise from Falcons coach Raheem Morris for his ability to drop opponents.

But while Brooks has a year's worth of preseason experience under his belt, he's still fighting for his first regular season opportunity. The 24-year-old was cut by the Falcons after the preseason last year but quickly re-signed and spent the entirety of his rookie campaign on Atlanta's practice squad.

Now given another chance to make the 53-man roster, Brooks is running with it -- along with hitting, talking and enjoying each moment the journey provides.

"It’s just from my love of the game," Brooks said about his enthusiasm. "I love the game, and I love what I do. So, every time I step foot on that field, I’m going to have that energy and that joy. I’m going to try and bring it along amongst my brothers.

"Whatever, preseason or regular season, have fun doing it. Everybody doesn't get a chance to do this. Some people wish they were in our position to do this."

Brooks, a native of Starkville, Miss., is surrounded by new coaches in Atlanta's secondary room. Apart from assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray, one of the few defensive holdovers from the previous staff, Morris started fresh on the back end.

Secondary coach Justin Hood leads the group, while Morris, Gray and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake -- each of whom have extensive history working with defensive backs -- are frequent visitors to the meetings.

There's been a natural adjustment phase for Brooks, but he said he enjoys Lake's defense. Further, Brooks has found the scheme suits him well in his battle to overcome his self-diagnosed "small man syndrome," particularly in comparison to former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's press man-heavy system.

"This year, we have the ability to play off a lot and read the quarterback. I feel like that's my skillset, being smaller," Brooks said. "I’m a twitchy guy, so I can get the vision break, view the quarterback, and I feel like that's the biggest thing in the scheme.

"Instead of playing press man a lot, you can get out, bait the quarterback, get a read on the quarterback, instead of just pressing every play. That’s a big difference from me to make more plays on the ball."

The transition from press-man to off-zone has prompted Brooks to re-train his eyes, which has been his biggest focal point this summer. Brooks said when he gets beat in practice, it's often because his eyes are a touch slow, and he ends up being a step late to the ball.

But he wasn't a step slow Saturday. If anything, he was a step ahead -- which he feels arose after finding an early rhythm.

"Corner is a game of getting the feeling and getting the flow of the game," Brooks said. "Once you get the flow, I feel like the plays will come to you at corner. So, it just felt good getting the start out there today and being able to show what I can do."

Opportunities came, and Brooks capitalized. He has one more chance to prove it again, as the Falcons finish their preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7 p.m. Friday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Brooks is fighting an uphill climb to make the roster. Atlanta held 37 players out of Saturday's exhibition, including 35 healthy scratches who appear safe on the final roster. Five of those players -- A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, Clark Phillips III and Antonio Hamilton Sr. -- are cornerbacks.

The Falcons will likely carry six corners. Throughout training camp, Anthony Johnson and Kevin King have held the advantage in the race for the No. 6 spot, but after his performance in Baltimore, Brooks has put himself squarely in the conversation. And if nothing else, has opened up doors in other cities should the Falcons not have a spot for him.

And while he tries not to think about it, he admitted making the roster is always an element on the back of his mind during exhibition season.

"I just give the glory to God," Brooks said. "I come out every day to practice and compete. I come out on game day and make the plays I can make and just always put the best foot forward to know whatever happened, I give the glory to God and it’s his decision at the end."

And if only for Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, it's a decision that became increasingly more difficult after Saturday's stout showing.