 Brooks with the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2022 | |||||||||
| No. 86 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (2000-05-07) May 7, 2000 Harrisburg, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Hickory Ridge (Harrisburg) | ||||||||
| College | Wingate (2018–2019) Tarleton State (2020) South Carolina (2020–2022) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: 7th round, 244th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Jalen Allen Brooks (born May 7, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Early life and college
Brooks was born on May 7, 2000, and grew up in Harrisburg, North Carolina.[1] He attended Northwestern High School before transferring to Hickory Ridge High School, where he recorded 44 receptions for 771 yards with nine touchdowns as a senior.[2][3] He committed to play college football at Division II Wingate.[4] He also ran track at Wingate.[5]
As a true freshman at Wingate in 2018, Brooks played 12 games and posted 17 receptions for 297 yards and four touchdowns.[6] The following year, he started 11 of his 12 appearances, and tallied 751 receiving yards off 35 catches with six scores.[6] He had 100-yard games against Virginia–Wise, Newberry and UNC Pembroke, while contributing to Wingate's 10–2 record and playoff berth.[7] Brooks was named first-team All-South Atlantic Conference for his performance.[8]
Brooks initially transferred to Tarleton State in 2020, but before the season started transferred again to South Carolina.[9] He was denied eligibility until the fifth game of the season, and ended up playing six contests, four as a starter, while making 11 receptions for 100 yards.[6] In 2021, Brooks started the first six games and recorded 14 catches for 181 yards with one score, before leaving the team for personal reasons.[10]
Brooks returned to South Carolina prior to the 2022 season.[9] He started all 12 games and registered 33 catches for 504 yards (both placing second on the team) with one touchdown, additionally posting four rushes for 51 yards and another score.[7] He missed the Gator Bowl for an off-field issue and afterwards declared for the NFL draft.[11]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 201 lb (91 kg) | 34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 8+1⁄4 in (2.04 m) | 4.58 s | 1.63 s | 2.68 s | 4.31 s | 7.15 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) | 15 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[12][13] | ||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
Brooks was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round (244th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.[14] As a rookie, he appeared in seven games and had six receptions for 64 yards.[15] He was declared inactive in 11 contests.
In 2024, he appeared in 14 games (one start), registering 12 receptions for 177 yards, 4 special teams tackles and one touchdown, which came against the Carolina Panthers (Week 15).[16] In Week 9, he made his first career start against the Atlanta Falcons, collecting 2 receptions for 26 yards. In Week 14, he caught a career-long 41-yard pass against the Washington Commanders. He was declared inactive in 3 contests.
In 2025, he was pushed farther down the depth chart during preseason. He was waived as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad the next day On August 27, 2025.[17][18] In Week 5, he was elevated to play against the New York Jets, but suffered a knee injury. He was released on October 25 with an injury settlement.[19]
Arizona Cardinals
On October 30, 2025, Brooks signed with the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad.[20] He was elevated three times. He was promoted to the active roster on December 16, to provide depth because of injuries to other wide receivers.[21] He appeared in 6 games, making 3 receptions for 51 yards and 10 kickoff returns for 254 yards.
Statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | DAL | 6 | 0 | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | DAL | 14 | 1 | 12 | 177 | 14.8 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | ARI | 6 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 17 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 26 | 1 | 21 | 292 | 14.2 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- "NFL Draft Profile: Jalen Brooks, Wide Receiver, South Carolina Gamecocks". Sports Illustrated. February 8, 2023.
- Cloninger, David (April 26, 2023). "Gamecocks' Jalen Brooks ready to clear any remaining NFL hurdle". The Post and Courier.
- Horton, C. Jemal (May 2, 2023). "Cowboys choose former Ragin' Bull Brooks". Independent Tribune.
- Ammenhauser, David (April 29, 2023). "What to know about Jalen Brooks, the Dallas' Cowboys seventh-round draft pick". Yahoo! Sports.
- Farner, Keith (2021). "Former Division II WR Jalen Brooks calls landing scholarship at South Carolina 'truly amazing'". Saturday Down South.
- McGranahan, Hale (May 4, 2023). "Final numbers from Jalen Brooks at NFL Combine". 247Sports.
- "Jalen Brooks". South Carolina Gamecocks.
- Anderson, Reggie (December 31, 2022). "Jalen Brooks declares for the NFL Draft". WLXT.
- Brock, Todd (May 1, 2023). "'Incredible journey': Cowboys have Giants QB Daniel Jones to thank for new WR Jalen Brooks". USA Today.
- "Jalen Brooks back with South Carolina football". On3.com. June 1, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- Crowell, Evan (December 31, 2022). "Jalen Brooks Declares For NFL Draft". Sports Illustrated.
- "Jalen Brooks Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- "2023 NFL Draft Scout Jalen Brooks College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- Fletcher III, James (April 29, 2023). "Dallas Cowboys select Jalen Brooks in seventh round of 2023 NFL Draft". On3.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- "Jalen Brooks 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- "Jalen Brooks 2024 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- Walker, Patrik. "2025 Roster Tracker: Deuce among list of Cowboys cuts". dallascowboys.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
- Walker, Patrik. "2025 Cowboys Roster: Holden, Grier fill out practice squad". dallascowboys.com. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
- Camras, Noah (October 25, 2025). "Cowboys cut ties with wide receiver after disappointing tenure". Newsweek. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
- "Jalen Brooks: Gets chance with Arizona". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- Gershman, Zach (December 16, 2025). "Bam Knight, Andre Baccellia End Season On Injured Reserve". AZCardinals.com.