Kelly: Jordyn Brooks has been Dolphins’ best linebacker since Zach Thomas | Opinion

Consider this a football love story, one that starts with a position coach having his heart broken by the NFL Draft.

Joe Barry was the Los Angeles Rams’ linebacker coach in 2020 and just knew he’d finally found an inside linebacker he wanted to build his room around.

Jordyn Brooks was a first-team All-Big 12 and a consensus second-team All-American selection after recording 108 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and three sacks for Texas Tech in 2019.

The Rams didn’t have a first-round pick that year, which saw four inside linebackers being taken in the first round. The Seattle Seahawks snagged Brooks with the 27th pick.

“You get heartbroken all the time in the draft because of situations like that. But it’s cool how this league works. Five years later I end up here. He ends up here,” said Barry, who is finishing his first season as the Miami Dolphins’ linebacker coach, leading a unit that Brooks has anchored all season, becoming the most productive Dolphins tackler since Zach Thomas.

One can argue that based on this season, Brooks, whom the Dolphins signed to a three-year contract worth up to $30 million, including $16 million guaranteed, has been Miami’s best inside linebacker since the recently inducted Hall of Famer was wearing aqua and orange.

Brooks’ arrival, and versatility, has helped stabilize the position, and elevated the Dolphins’ newly installed defense.

He’s the leading tackler on a defense that heads into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Jets ranked third in yards allowed (310.6), and eighth in points allowed (20.8). And the unit delivered that success without many turnovers or sacks this season.

The unit’s greatest strength has been how stingy it is on third-down defense (ranked fifth with a 35.5 percent rate of conversion), and the fact Miami’s ranked No. 2 in red zone defense (46 percent) and goal to go defense (59 percent).

“He’s a guy that I’ve always coveted, even as a coordinator. The attributes. He’s got speed. He’s got quickness,” Barry said of Brooks, who is Miami’s leading tackler this year with 137 tackles (83 solo).

His 137 tackles are the most by a Dolphins defender has had since Thomas had 165 in the 16 games of the 2006 season.

“There are so many things that an inside linebacker has to do now in today’s football. They not only have to play the run, but they obviously have to play the pass. They get matched up on tight ends. They get matched up on running backs. Sometimes they are formationally on a receiver, a slot. In this system we do a lot of things with our linebackers from a pressure standpoint, so you’ve got to be a good blitzer. You have to be able to beat offensive linemen. You have to be able to beat backs,” Barry said. “Those are all things [Brooks has] done very well for us.”

He is one of eight players since he entered the league in 2020 with more than 600 career stops. His 649 career tackles to date are the fourth most in the NFL since 2020.

He’s behind Baltimore’s Roquan Smith, Jacksonville’s Foye Oluokun, Seattle’s Bobby Wagner and two tackles ahead of San Francisco’s Fred Warner, who some view as the best young inside linebacker in the NFL.

Could Brooks be coming for the crown?

This season Brooks, who is quiet by nature, has also stepped forward, becoming a more vocal leader.

Earlier this year he didn’t shy away from addressing the team’s shortcomings, confessing that his unit played “soft” in Miami’s 30-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, admitting that the elements played a factor in the team’s performance.

Brooks’ teammates have noticed his willingness to hold himself and his teammates accountable. Put that with the 27-year-old’s talent, versatility, and durability, and it appears Miami has found a foundational piece for this defense.

After five seasons of learning and growing, Brooks has turned into a bona fide playmaker, and leader in the Miami.

“Have faith in anything that you do,” said Brooks, who averages 8.2 tackles per game throughout his five-year career. “For me, that’s how I approach it. The rest of my teammates know that’s how we got to approach each week.

“We’re still alive,” Brook said about Miami’s chances of advancing to the postseason, which requires a Dolphins win over the Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Denver Broncos on Sunday. “Come to work each day preparing and expecting to make the playoffs and see how it all falls out.”

And trust and believe Brooks will be there doing his part.