The Bucs entered 2023 free agency with five defensive linemen scheduled to be free agents. Tampa Bay already lost top reserve Rakeem Nunez-Roches to the Giants, and Will Gholston, Akiem Hicks, Pat O’Connor and Deadrin Senat remain unsigned.
Only two defensive linemen with playing experience – Pro Bowler Vita Vea and Logan Hall – remain on the Bucs roster as of right now. Even if the Bucs re-sign a few defensive lineman – perhaps Gholston and O’Connor – they’ll still need to add at least one more defensive tackle body up front in this year’s draft.
The 2023 draft crop at defensive tackle is not good at all. There might only be two or three defensive tackles drafted. Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Clemson’s Bryan Bresee carry first-round grades and Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey might sneak into the first round, too.
But one of the defensive tackles the Bucs have their eyes on is Bowling Green’s Karl Brooks. He has a Top 30 visit with the Bucs later this spring, according to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo. Brooks is the second known Top 30 visit the Bucs have scheduled. The first is Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Karl Brooks Played DT At Senior Bowl And Attracted Bucs’ Attention
The 6-foot-3, 304-pound Brooks was actually a defensive end for the Falcons – playing at a weight between 280 earlier in his career and 300 pounds last year. Starting four years out of his five seasons at Bowling Green, Brooks was a sack machine, recording 27.5 sacks, including 10 as a senior. The vast majority of those sacks came in the lesser MAC conference, but he did notch sacks at Kansas State and at Tennessee.
Brooks knew that his NFL future was as a defensive tackle, so he moved inside at the Senior Bowl where his quick-twitch and swim move got the attention of plenty of scouts. Yet despite his production and his great week in Mobile, Ala. Brooks was a snub for the NFL Scouting Combine. Brooks will have his pro day at Bowling Green on Monday, March 20 and then will visit the Bucs after that.
Brooks is ranked as the No. 56 overall prospect by Pro Football Focus, but he ranks outside of the Top 100 players list by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. Brooks was a third-round pick in the second Pewter Report 2023 Bucs Mock Draft this year, but he might not last that long. Tampa Bay has the 50th overall pick in the draft, but Brooks might not last that far in the second round, either.
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