The Top 3 wide receivers in Brooks' mind are Arizona State's Jordan Tyson, Ohio State's Carnell Tate and Southern California's Makai Lemon. We've noticed all three as Top 15 choices in various mock drafts, so they might be out of Minnesota's reach at No. 18 in the first round. Zachariah Branch, who was a screen merchant at Georgia and is lightning in a bottle, is Brooks' WR4, and Tennessee's Chris Brazzell II is WR5.
Overall, Brooks, who in case you didn't know was a standout wide receiver at North Carolina and a defensive back in the NFL, believes the class of wideouts "lacks a true WR1," but he assessed "there are several explosive pass catchers with the potential to earn Pro Bowl honors within their respective roles."
On the defensive side, let's start in the trenches.
In order, Brooks pegged Clemson's Peter Woods, Florida's Caleb Banks and Texas Tech's Lee Hunter, as well as Ohio State's Kayden McDonald and Georgia's Christen Miller as his five-favorite defensive tackles.
Notably, he wrote Banks is a "boom-or-bust prospect with the freakish talent and heavy hands to dominate opponents at the line of scrimmage," and he likened Hunter's tape to five-time Pro Bowler Vince Wilfork because of "his heavy hands and cat-like quickness posing problems for blockers at the point of attack." Brooks deemed the interior DL group presents desirable run-stoppers and pass-rushers.
The secondary is packed with upside, and according to Brooks has a crop of cover corners that could excel in turnover-obsessed systems (hi, Vikings!) thanks to their instincts, awareness and diagnostic skills.
Each of Brooks' Top 5 cornerbacks have recently been mocked to the purple flock by one or more reputable media outlets: Tennessee's Jermod McCoy; LSU's Mansoor Delane; Tennessee's Colton Hood; Clemson's Avieon Terrell; and South Carolina's Brandon Cisse. Here's how Brooks spelled out his ranking: