Steelers Draft Grades: Antoine Brooks Jr. Selected With Pick 198

Get instant reaction and a grade on the Steelers selecting Antoine Brooks Jr. in the sixth-round.
Steelers Draft Grades: Antoine Brooks Jr. Selected With Pick 198
Steelers Draft Grades: Antoine Brooks Jr. Selected With Pick 198 /

The Pittsburgh Steelers opted for safety with their sixth-round pick, taking Maryland's Antoine Brooks Jr. 

After acquiring Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers still needed viable safety depth behind him and Terrell Edmunds. During his senior season at Maryland, Brooks Jr. tallied a team-high 87 tackles, 8.5 for loss, five passes defended and one interception. 

Here's what The Draft Network had to say on Brooks Jr.: 

"Antoine Brooks Jr. projects best as a nickel sub-package defender in the NFL. Brooks Jr. brings a strong presence off the edge as a D-gap run defender and blitzer and pairs it with good short area quickness and stout tackling. His functional athleticism may prevent him from playing an every down role on the back end but this is a potential special teams ace and strong complimentary asset with valued skills against the pass (shallow zone and man to man) or against the run." 

Instant Reaction

Pittsburgh again added depth to another position that needed it. Brooks Jr. is a physical safety that can drop down into the box and play in different coverages, although his range playing in the back end isn't much to get excited about. Analysts project him to be a valuable slot piece that's capable of blitzing, very similar to Mike Hilton, who is a free agent after this season and will want to be paid. 

I was hoping for a safety that excelled in ball-skills, and while Brooks Jr. doesn't sway to scale either way in the category, he's best played closer to the line of scrimmage. However, with Minkah Fitzpatrick suring up the back end, he won't need to play center-field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers add depth at safety and potentially nickel, while also adding to special teams play. 

Grade: C+


Published
Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin has been with AllSteelers since August of 2019. Follow him on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates and more on the Pittsburgh Steelers.