'Brick by brick': Cowboys WR Jalen Brooks building foundation for '24 roster spot

Jalen Brooks may be building something special.

By all accounts, the second-year wide receiver has been a strong performer for the Cowboys during training camp. Most major projections have the seventh-round draft pick from last year making the 53-man roster, no small feat considering the expanse of talent in the team’s WR room this summer.

Brooks admits that he didn’t have a perfect camp, but the 24-year-old says he’s focused on simply improving with every new opportunity.

“It’s been solid,” Brooks said of his camp before leaving Oxnard with the team. “It hasn’t been what I wanted it to [be], but … I’m big on ‘brick-by-brick.’ Just keep on stacking each and every day, trying to get better each and every day. I definitely left some plays out there this camp, but as long as I’m able to see what I need to learn from and everything, and come back and be better than what I was yesterday, then I’m okay with that.”

His work in practice has certainly helped with the construction of that foundation. Lining up against 2022’s league interceptions leader- day after day, rep after rep, drill after drill- will do that.

Brooks has found himself going one-on-one with All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs… and holding his own more often than not. One series from Wednesday’s final padded practice saw Diggs jawing loudly at Brooks mid-route, only to later have the South Carolina product get revenge by beating Diggs for a touchdown catch that ended with Brooks spinning the ball at the two-time Pro Bowler’s feet.

“It felt good, but that’s why we’re out here: just to compete,” Brooks said of the back-and-forth with Diggs. “We’ll be talking trash all the time and everything, so I think it’s healthy competition, but obviously, it feels good to end up on top, for sure.”

Brooks is getting those regular reps versus the Cowboys’ CB1 largely because superstar receiver CeeDee Lamb has been absent for all of camp. And with Brandin Cooks skipping out on the final two Oxnard practices for personal reasons, it’s put Brooks against DBs that are often far better than the ones he might draw during a real game, as the third or fourth option in the Dallas passing attack.

Even against top-tier competition, he’s been delivering.

Brooks says it speaks to the overall strength of the receiving corps the team has assembled.

“The depth that we have, being able to not miss a beat. It’s always a next-guy-up type of thing, and just showing that even if somebody’s not here, we’re able to step up and compete and fill those roles.”

That will only pay dividends when Lamb and Cooks are back in the lineup, and Brooks- who has all of six career catches for 64 yards- knows it.

“It just builds confidence,” he said. “Going into any game during the season, when you’re going against the best and you’re able to compete against the best, I think that talks for itself. I’m blessed that I have him as a teammate and I’m able to go against him.”

Brooks isn’t guaranteed a roster spot, though, even if he’s shown out well in practices. He hasn’t gotten a ton of looks in the team’s two preseason games, but that could be because the Cowboys coaches already have a good idea of what they have in him.

Case in point: Brooks got just one target in last weekend’s win in Vegas.

His snap count in this Saturday’s game against the Chargers may provide a clue. Brooks would certainly seem- on paper- to be one of the Cowboys’ top six choices at the position. If Brooks is used again only sparingly in the preseason finale, it may be because the team is wrestling harder with a decision about Racey McMath or Kelvin Harmon or Jalen Cropper.

Maybe Brooks has already stacked enough bricks by now to have built himself a solid roster spot.