Karl Dermarad Brooks (born May 8, 2000) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bowling Green Falcons.
Early life
Brooks grew up in Lansing, Michigan, and went to J. W. Sexton High School.[1] He initially committed to play college football at Division II Grand Valley State but later changed his commitment to Bowling Green after receiving a later offer from the program.[2]
College career
In his collegiate career Brooks totaled 167 tackles, 46 being for a loss, 27.5 sacks, one interception, five pass deflections, five forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.[3] In the 2021 season he was named third team all-Mid-American Conference (MAC).[4] His best collegiate year occurred in 2022 where he recorded 50 tackles, 18 going for a loss, 10 sacks, four pass deflections, a fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles. He was also named first-team all-MAC.[5][6]
Brooks was projected to be a fourth to fifth round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.[7][8]
Professional career
(0.80 m)
(0.23 m)
(1.96 m)
(0.67 m)
(2.67 m)
Brooks was selected in the sixth round, 179th overall, by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.[11] He signed his rookie contract on May 5.[12]
On November 17, 2024, against divisional rivals the Chicago Bears in Week 11, Brooks blocked Chicago’s game-winning field goal attempt from kicker Cairo Santos as time expired in regulation to preserve a Packers’ 20–19 victory and improve their record to 7–3. For this, Brooks was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[13] His field goal block prevented the Packers from finishing 0–6 against the NFC North division, as they went on to finish the season 1–5 against the division (including a loss to the Bears on a successful game-winning field goal).[14]
Career statistics
NFL
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | FF | FR | PD | ||
| 2023 | GB | 17 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 4.0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2024 | GB | 17 | 0 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 3.5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | GB | 16 | 7 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 50 | 7 | 72 | 34 | 38 | 8.0 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | |||||||||||
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | FF | FR | PD | ||
| 2023 | GB | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | GB | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | GB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | |||||||||||
College
| Season | Team | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FF | FR | |||
| 2018 | Bowling Green | 12 | 32 | 13 | 19 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Bowling Green | 12 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 4.5 | 1 | 33 | 33.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | Bowling Green | 3 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Bowling Green | 12 | 42 | 15 | 27 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Bowling Green | 13 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 52 | 167 | 77 | 90 | 27.5 | 1 | 33 | 33.0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| Source: sports-reference.com | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ Calloway, Brian (November 24, 2022). “Local college football notes: Sexton’s Karl Brooks makes mark at BGSU”. Lansing State Journal. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ↑ Calloway, Brian (February 7, 2018). “Sexton’s Karl Brooks lands Division I opportunity at Bowling Green”. Lansing State Journal. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ “Karl Brooks College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits”. College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ↑ “MAC Announces 2021 Postseason Football Awards & All-MAC Teams”. Mid-American Conference. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ↑ “2022 Bowling Green State Falcons Stats”. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ↑ “MAC Announces 2022 Postseason Football Awards & All-Conference Teams”. Mid-American Conference. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ↑ “Bowling Green Falcons”. NFL Mock Draft Database. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ↑ “KARL BROOKS DL/EDGE BOWLING GREEN | NFL DRAFT PROFILE & SCOUTING REPORT”. NFL Draft Buzz. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ↑ “Karl Brooks Draft and Combine Prospect Profile”. National Football League. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ↑ “2023 NFL Draft Scout Karl Brooks College Football Profile”. DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ↑ “2023 NFL Draft: Packers select Bowling Green DL Karl Brooks in sixth round, No. 179 overall”. packers.com. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ↑ “Packers sign eight draft picks”. packers.com. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ↑ Grubbs, Grant. “Packers DT Karl Brooks blocks Bears’ game-winning FG attempt to secure win”. On3.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- ↑ Huber, Bill (January 6, 2025). “Playoff-Bound Packers Make Some Bad History With Loss to Bears”. Green Bay Packers On SI. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
External links
- Career statistics from Yahoo Sports
- Green Bay Packers bio
- Bowling Green Falcons bio