Taking Names and Kicking Grass, Bengals Rookie RB Tahj Brooks Reveling in Heavy Practice Workload

CINCINNATI – There are no public stats keeping track of snaps in practice, but those who have watched every day of Cincinnati Bengals training camp don’t need an official sheet to tell them that rookie running back Tahj Brooks has been the most active player the first two weeks.

Brooks has taken reps with the first-, second- and third-team offense, and you can bet his heavy workload will continue Thursday night when the Bengals travel to Philadelphia for their preseason opener.

Head coach Zac Taylor said he expects the starters to play about a quarter before ceding way to the second team for the bulk of the remaining minutes.

Starting running back Chase Brown has been in Taylor’s offense for two seasons, while Samaje Perine is back after playing for Taylor and the Bengals from 2019-22.

The coaches have been impressed by what they’ve seen from Brooks since stepping a little outside of their comfort zone to select him in the sixth round. But he’s a rookie adjusting to a bigger, faster game and a new scheme, so they are trying to give him as much as they think he possibly can handle.

“I love it,” Brooks said of the workload. “I’m blessed to be getting this much action. I’m not worried about getting tired, it’s been more about staying focused on the mental things and really learning the system.”

The heavy load is nothing new for Brooks, who logged 999 touches in college – 897 carries and 102 receptions.

Taylor said before practice Tuesday that the Bengals were impressed by what they saw from Brooks as a runner, receiver and blocker during his time at Texas Tech, and they are intent on getting him quickly up to speed in all three phases because he’s going to be asked to contribute in each of them.

Brooks is 5-foot-9 while Brown is 5-10. Brooks weighs 220, while Brown is 210.

But the Bengals view the rookie as a complement to Brown, not a contingency. And while they are built alike, the real similarity is in how well rounded both are, Taylor said.

“Tahj was just a guy that we really liked where we were at in the draft,” Taylor said. “I wouldn't say we're trying to get two like bodies there. I think Tahj can excel in all three phases of offense and can be a special teams contributor for us.

“He can excel in the run game, he's got good hands in the pass game and he's a good enough protector to help us out there. That's really what we look at. It's not a similarity to Chase, it's more just we think he can play all three of those roles for us.”

The key, of course, for any young running back is pass protection.

There is no faster way to gain respect … or lose trust.

“He's got a good understanding of our protections, which is going to come at any young running back, especially in these preseason games,” Taylor said. “That part can really expose you. He's done a good job understanding the technique we want, what his assignments are.”

Defenses typically don’t blitz a lot in the preseason, but Brooks knows at some point he’s going to be asked to step into the A gap and take on a man much bigger than he is.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “I did it a lot in college, but really, we had a lot of different protections than we have here. Now it’s about closing space and cleaning up my technique.

“I’m not going to shy away from contact,” he added. “That’s not me at all.”

Most of what Brooks has been asked to do through the first two weeks in camp has been to avoid contact, because he’s had a lot of rushing attempts and receptions.

He’s proved to be sure-handed as a receiver, and one of the most impressive attributes he has as a runner is his vision, both in finding a crease as well as looking for what’s next after hitting it.

“He's had some really good runs for us,” Taylor said. “He's got really good vision once he gets past the line of scrimmage and it requires him to make that second-level read. I've seen really good things from Tahj, and we're excited about him.”

The Bengals drafted Brooks with the 193rd pick in the draft.

That number doesn’t concern him as much as 19.

That’s how many running backs were drafted ahead of him.

Brooks doesn’t have all of them memorized. He’s too busy learning the playbook to spend time on that.

But he does have all of their names written down.

“I have the list right here on my phone,” he said. “At the draft, I wrote down every one of the running backs that went before me. That kind of set the disrespectful theme for me.

“I want to prove I'm greater than those guys,” he said. “But I know it takes time. It takes doing all the little things right each and every day, and I’m here for it.”