The Dallas Cowboys stunned just about everyone when they did not select a running back in the 2024 NFL Draft. It wasn't a deep RB class last year, but Texas standout Jonathan Brooks was considered the top prospect.
The Panthers ended up trading up ahead of Dallas in the second round to take Brooks, who was coming off a torn ACL at the time but was expected to get cleared early in the season. They had Chuba Hubbard to handle the bulk of carries, so it seemed like a worthwhile risk.
Brooks impressed despite not being activated until Week 12, but all that momentum got derailed when he suffered a non-contact injury in Week 14. An MRI confirmed it was another torn ACL to the same knee, putting his status for the 2025 campaign in jeopardy.
Unfortunately, the Panthers placed Brooks on the physically unable to perform list this week, which rules him out for the entire season.
Cowboys dodged a nightmare not taking Jonathon Brooks in 2024 NFL Draft
It's a heartbreaking blow for Brooks, who had only just made his way back to the gridiron from his initial ACL injury.
While Brooks is still younger than several running backs who just got drafted in April, including first-round pick Omarion Hampton and second-rounders TreVeyon Henderson and R.J. Harvey, it is hard not to be worried about the former Longhorn's football future.
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It seemed like a forgone conclusion that Brooks would end up in Dallas. Jerry Jones specifically could not contain his feelings about Brooks.
“In my 30 years I thought it was the best interview that I ever interviewed with a player,” Jones said about Brooks before the draft, via Pro Football Talk. “He’s outstanding. And he’s a great football player. We got him high, high, high. And he’s a good player.”
Could that have been a smokescreen? Perhaps, but there is a reason various draft analysts mocked Brooks to Dallas in the second round.
Not only was Jones enamored with the player, but the team's backfield had serious question marks. Fans were bullish on Rico Dowdle's potential, but he had never handled a big workload in his career. You have to think Brooks would have been the pick at No. 56 overall if he was on the board.
Ironically enough, Dowdle signed with the Panthers this offseason. He'll serve as the secondary runner behind starter Chuba Hubbard. Carolina even drafted Georgia RB Trevor Etienne in the fourth round, which casts more doubt about Brooks' future with the team.
The Cowboys really tip-toed around disaster on this one.