'Brick By Brick': Cowboys' Jalen Brooks Self-Scouts

Dallas Cowboys receiver Jalen Brooks has been on a steady rise up the depth chart since arriving last offseason as a seventh-round pick.

After an eyebrow-raising camp last year, Brooks has doubled down in 2024 and has had an even better camp. With CeeDee Lamb's absence due to his contract status, Brooks has been getting valuable reps with Dak Prescott - and it's paying dividends.

Prescott has hit Brooks on several deep routes throughout training camp, but perhaps the best one was in Dallas' final practice in Oxnard as Brooks was matched up against Trevon Diggs and Dak connected on a deep ball to Jalen to end the camp on a high.

But for all the highlights that Brooks has had in camp, he still feels like his time in Oxnard has been so-so.

“It's been solid, it hasn't been what I wanted it to [be]," Brooks said of how his training camp has been. "But I'm big on brick by brick, just 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 just as long as I'm able to see what I need to learn from and come back and be better than what I was yesterday then I'm okay with that.”

Given Brooks' speed and size, it is no wonder he and Dak have been connecting well on deep passes all camp. But that's also down to the hard work Brooks has put in during the entire offseason.

Head coach Mike McCarthy stated that he loves the pair's growth and connection over the last four weeks, and when the regular season rolls around, we might see the fruits of their labor.

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With Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert at the top of the pecking order, Brooks has positioned himself to be at the top of the rotation. And for a seventh-round pick, that's a big feather in his cap.

But it's clear he's not satisfied, so it's time to mix up the cement and keep stacking...brick by brick.