Eugene Brooks finishes as a top 10 interior offensive lineman in the 2024 class per On3

Eugene Brooks rose quickly to end the year. So much so he finished in On3’s top 10 2024 IOL rankings.

Much was made about the Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive line class in 2024. Some were even questioning [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag]’s ability as a recruiter and coach.

Although Oklahoma missed out on some of their top prospects, that narrative was crazy talk.

Bedenbaugh has built a reputation for taking guys who aren’t highly recruited and turning them into stars. [autotag]Orlando Brown Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Creed Humphrey[/autotag], [autotag]Cody Ford[/autotag], [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag] and [autotag]Ben Powers[/autotag], just to name a few, were all three-star players according at least one of the recruiting services coming out of high school. Four of the five have carved out nice NFL careers, and the other is projected to be taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Still, you hope to land some of the big fish that you are going after. However, one guy who could be an overlooked prospect who becomes the next great one is [autotag]Eugene Brooks[/autotag]. Brooks was once a three-star but shot up the recruiting boards after impressive camps and All-American games. He made the move all the way into On3’s top 10 interior offensive linemen of the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag].

Brooks is a consensus top 185 player in the country and is as high as a top 75 according to 247Sports. All four major recruiting sites have him as a top 10 interior offensive lineman, with 247Sports ranking him the highest at No. 3.

It’s unclear what position he will play at Oklahoma. Many thought he would play guard, but there have been some rumblings that he could be Oklahoma’s next great center. That remains to be seen, as well as how much playing time he will receive in year one.

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Orlando Brown Jr. hysterically swore into the Monday Night Football camera after TD celebration

Orlando Brown did what?!

Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. made the most out of one of his team’s touchdown celebrations on Monday Night Football.

After his team did a choreographed dance after Joe Mixon ran it out from six yards into the end zone, Brown leaned right into the camera and yelled a swear right into the camera.

It’s probably going to earn the Bengals tackle a nice little fine from the NFL, but it was such an unexpectedly funny shock that it’s more than worth it for the highlight alone.

Seriously, did you see this coming? We sure didn’t, and that made it even funnier.

Brown was clearly having the time of his life by leaning into the camera and yelling a PG cuss word to the audience, and we were very much down for whatever inspired him to do so.

Even if Brown has to give some of his game check to the league for this shenanigan, we’ll always have one of the most surprising moments of television in the NFL this year.

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Twitter Reacts: ESPY award goes to the more popular team, not the ‘best team’

At the ESPYs, the award went to the more popular team and not the “best team” and social media reacted accordingly.

In an event that is supposed to be the sporting world’s answer to the Oscars or the Grammy’s, the ESPYs fell short of legitimacy in their Best Team award on Wednesday night.

A fan vote decided that the Kansas City Chiefs were the best team of the last year, snubbing an award that should have very easily gone to the record-setting Oklahoma Sooners softball team.

Led by Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and former Sooners [autotag]Creed Humphrey[/autotag] and [autotag]Orlando Brown Jr.[/autotag] (now with Cincinnati), the Chiefs were great in 2022 on their way to a Super Bowl win over [autotag]Jalen Hurts[/autotag], [autotag]Lane Johnson[/autotag] and the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the fan voting aspect of the award took away a chance to recognize the greatness that was Oklahoma softball in 2023.

The Sooners lost one game in their third straight national title run. In February, they lost a one-run affair, 4-3, to the Baylor Bears. They didn’t lose another game the rest of the season. Not in Big 12 play. Not in the regionals or super regionals. Not in the Women’s College World Series.

The Sooners ended the season on a record-setting 53-game winning streak to capture their third consecutive national title. Their three-peat is only the second time the feat has been accomplished. The last time was nearly 40 years ago in the infancy of the sport at the NCAA level.

This team had the best offense in the country, the best ERA in the country, the best player in the NCAA tournament ([autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]), and arguably two of the best position players in the sport in [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]. And there’s no argument that they have the best coach in the sport leading the best team in sports with [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] at the helm.

Yes, it was a fan vote. Yes, the NFL is the more popular sport. And yes, the ESPYs missed an opportunity to honor a phenomenal feat on a public stage when the award was given to the more popular team and not the best team.

Here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to the snub.

Former Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. says he’ll be more aggressive in Bengals offense

Former #Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. thinks that the #Bengals’ offensive scheme will allow him to be more aggressive in certain situations. | from @EdEastonJr

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The Kansas City Chiefs are only a few weeks away from the start of training camp and beginning the defense of their Super Bowl title. The 2023 NFL offseason has resulted in some roster changes, most notably on the offensive line with the departure of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency.

The former Chiefs Pro Bowler signed with the rival Cincinnati Bengals, which was a shocking move to many considering the battles between the teams in recent years. Brown Jr. was a guest on Monday’s episode of ESPN’s NFL Live shared his thoughts on the transition and compared the offensive schematic differences between the teams.

“It’ll be very different for me personally,” said Brown Jr. “Obviously, a lot of these drops by Patrick (Mahomes), right here in the Super Bowl were similar kind of what I’m gonna see in Cincinnati, but so many different concepts that we run in Cincinnati compared to Kansas City, from a from a pass standpoint, with the receivers, you know, it’s gonna be a lot (firmer). It’s going to be a lot quicker. I’ll be able to be a lot more aggressive in certain situations, just given the personnel and the way that they call plays in Cincinnati.”

One of the key differences between the schemes that Brown Jr. thinks will be advantageous to his game is dropback depth. Patrick Mahomes has been known to take deeper drops in the passing game, while Burrow takes fewer steps. Arrowhead Report’s Jordan Foote captured Brown Jr.’s comments on that:

Brown Jr. spent the last two seasons in Kansas City after being traded from Baltimore in 2021. He and the Bengals will return to Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs in Week 17 on New Year’s Eve.

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Colts select OT Orlando Brown Jr. in 2018 re-draft

In Bleacher Report’s re-draft of the 2018 class, the Colts opted for an offensive tackle.

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The 2018 NFL draft helped put the Indianapolis Colts back on the map for a few seasons as a contending team in the AFC, but how different might it look if the class underwent a re-draft?

Bleacher Report conducted the exercise of re-drafting the first round of the 2018 draft. The Colts held the No. 3 overall pick and then traded it to the New York Jets for the No. 6 overall pick and several other selections.

Though the Colts took three-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson in 2018, he was taken one spot ahead of them in this re-draft. Instead, they pivot to finding their left tackle of the future.

The Pick Then: Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame

The Pick Now: Orlando Brown Jr., OT, Oklahoma

The Indianapolis Colts don’t have an opportunity to select Quenton Nelson in this re-draft. But they still have an opportunity here to bolster the offensive line at what most would argue is a more valuable position.

Brown hasn’t quite had the career Nelson has, but he’s not exactly cat food, either. In five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and now the Cincinnati Bengals, Brown has been named to the Pro Bowl four times. PFF’s Gordon McGuinness recently slotted him as the NFL’s 14th-best offensive tackle.

“Brown has developed into a high-floor NFL player, with his PFF grade sitting between 73.0 and 78.0 in each of the past four seasons,” McGuinness wrote. “Five seasons into his NFL career, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be a top-10 tackle. But at the very worst, he is a more-than-capable starting player on the left side.”

That may not sound like the most glowing of recommendations. But in today’s NFL, a “more-than-capable” left tackle is absolutely worth a top-10 pick.

Brown would be an interesting choice for the Colts. It certainly would have answered the question as to who the successor to Anthony Castonzo would be considering the latter eventually would retire following the 2020 season. But it also is fair to question whether Brown would have sat for three seasons behind Castonzo.

Another current Colts player selected in the 2018 draft was taken in this re-draft. Linebacker Shaquille Leonard was originally the No. 36 overall pick in this draft, but he went No. 12 overall to the Buffalo Bills.

Other players the Colts could have considered in this re-draft would be safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, cornerback Denzel Ward, offensive tackle Jordan Mailata and safety Derwin James, to name a few.


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Trio of former Oklahoma offensive linemen among PFF’s top 32 for 2023 at offensive tackle

Oklahoma sees three former Sooners inside PFF’s top offensive tackles. Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, and Orlando Brown Jr. ranked.

Oklahoma’s track record over the last 15 years with the offensive line in the NFL is only matched by Notre Dame and Wisconsin. However, right now, when it comes to offensive tackle, no school is doing it better than the Sooners.

Pro Football Focus continued their rankings of the best 32 players at each position ahead of the 2023 season, and when looking at offensive tackle, Oklahoma has the top two.

[autotag]Trent Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Lane Johnson[/autotag] slot in at No. 1 and 2 in PFF’s offensive tackle rankings, and it’s hard to argue with either. No tackle has been as dominant and consistent as Trent Williams, who, at 34, is comfortably one of the league’s best players regardless of position.

Here is what the curator of the list, Gordon McGuinness, had to say about Trent at the top spot.

Williams has been with the 49ers for three seasons now and has finished all three with the highest PFF grade among offensive tackles. From 526 pass-blocking snaps in the regular season and playoffs last season, he allowed 19 total pressures, just three of which were hits or sacks. – McGuinness, PFF

Williams’ consistency at left tackle has helped propel San Francisco’s offense in new ways. Trent’s ability to win against any opposition makes it much easier for head coach and play caller Kyle Shanahan to orchestrate his dynamic offense.

Elsewhere in the NFC, Lane Johnson holds down the right tackle spot for the defending NFC champs, the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson came to Oklahoma as a quarterback and tight end. He switched briefly to defensive end before ending up on the offensive line. That switch changed his career. Since then, he’s been magnificent at right tackle.

Johnson dealt with injuries throughout the 2022 season but still put together his best season in pass protection since entering the NFL. His 90.1 PFF pass-blocking grade trailed only Laremy Tunsil at the position, with Johnson not allowing a single sack or hit through the regular season and playoffs. – McGuinness, PFF

Johnson has the responsibility of protecting former Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Johnson held it down all last season. He didn’t give up a single sack or quarterback hit in 2022. Johnson also thrives as a physical and dominant force in the running game which is a significant part of the Eagles’ offensive attack.

Oklahoma’s list of talented offensive tackles does not end there. Orlando Brown also slots in on the list at No. 14.

Brown has developed into a high-floor NFL player, with his PFF grade sitting between 73.0 and 78.0 in each of the past four seasons. Five seasons into his NFL career, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be a top-10 tackle. But at the very worst, he is a more-than-capable starting player on the left side.

Brown was a starter on the Chiefs team that won the Super Bowl last year and is a four-time Pro Bowler. He’s plenty been a really good player for the Ravens and Chiefs and now moves from protecting Patrick Mahomes to protecting Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. He signed a four-year, $64 million deal this offseason to head north to Ohio.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Bengals unveiled Week 17 clash with Chiefs by poking fun at Cincinnati mayor’s unsuccessful taunting

The Bengals had a little fun with a schedule reveal at the expense of Cincinnati’s mayor.

New Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. had a little fun with Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval while revealing a big NFL game for the upcoming season.

The Bengals will play a hotly anticipated game against the Kansas City Chiefs for Week 17’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza, one of marquee matchups the NFL teased ahead of Thursday’s 2023 schedule reveal.

The Bengals announced the game via Pureval, who just says when the game is and hilariously cuts his message short while Brown filmed it.

The former Chiefs tackle jokes that he thinks this message “was better than the last time,” a friendly jab at Pureval’s cringey taunting video ahead of January’s AFC title game where he basically said Joe Burrow was Patrick Mahomes’ father.

As you’ll recall, the Bengals wound up losing to the Chiefs in that championship game. Kansas City won the Super Bowl, and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce even called out Pureval’s taunting during his post-Super Bowl speech.

While Bengals fans surely appreciate the ardent support from their mayor, they’ll probably caution him doing too much taunting against the reigning Super Bowl champs this season. Good on Pureval for having a sense of humor about the whole thing, though.

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Orlando Brown Jr. keeps Cincinnati Mayor in line for Chiefs-Bengals game announcement

The #Bengals enlisted the help of former #Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. to keep “Mayor Jabroni” in line for the AFC title game rematch announcement.

In one of the strangest bits of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals rivalry last season, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval made a cringe-worthy video that was a big talking point ahead of the AFC Championship Game.

During the Lamar Hunt Trophy presentation, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce delivered an iconic verbal beatdown of the public servant.

“I’ve got some wise words for that Cincinnati Mayor,” Kelce said. “Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni.”

Well, now it seems the Bengals are making a bit of fun of the Mayor’s misstep.

To announce their 2023 NFL season rematch with Kansas City (learn more about the game here), Cincinnati enlisted the help of ex-Chief and new Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. to keep Pureval in line. Check it out:

“The Bengals play the Chiefs Week 17. . . and I’ve got nothing else to add,” Pureval says.

“Yeah, I think that was better than the last time,” Brown Jr. declares.

It’s safe to say that the Mayor knew his role this time around. The whole interaction between Pureval and Brown Jr. had a very “Parks and Rec” vibe if you ask me.

I think the bulletin board material will be kept at a minimum early on between these two clubs. As we inch closer to their matchup on New Year’s Eve, that could certainly change.

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NFL exec saw Orlando Brown Jr. as weakest link on Chiefs’ offensive line

Did the #Chiefs happen to get rid of their weakest link on the offensive line this offseason? One anonymous NFL executive seems to think so.

An anonymous NFL executive recently praised the Kansas City Chiefs for their conviction in their handling of LT Orlando Brown Jr. this offseason.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando polled executives around the league about what they thought of all 32 NFL team’s additions and losses in free agency over the past several weeks. A comment from one of those executives on the Chiefs’ biggest offseason change was quite intriguing.

Orlando Brown Jr. did not receive the franchise tag from Kansas City and this particular NFL executive credited the Chiefs for that decision.

“I give them credit for not (franchise) tagging Orlando Brown and not spending dollars on him,” an exec said, “because he was probably the weakest link on their line last year. It seems like they figured out as long as you protect Mahomes, nothing else matters. It is probably true.”

It’s hard to envision the Chiefs in a better spot without their two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, but this particular executive seems to suggest addition via subtraction. K.C. didn’t overpay for the player viewed as their weakest link on the offensive line and that’s good business.

The comments from another anonymous executive on Brown Jr. seemed to suggest that the league-wide sentiments on the now-Bengals left tackle are a mixed bag. Even after back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns, they didn’t view him as a blue-chip left tackle in the NFL.

“Problem is, I think (Brown) is a right tackle,” another exec said. “I think he played his best football in Baltimore’s system because he was protected. In terms of being a true blue-chip left tackle, I don’t see it. But he could look better in Cincy because Burrow gets the ball out faster than (Patrick) Mahomes.”

Everyone that Sando spoke to seemed to feel the Chiefs were in good shape for the future. That said, they didn’t acknowledge that there’s some projection on the offensive line heading into 2023. Jawaan Taylor is coming in and potentially making a switch from right tackle to left tackle, which isn’t a small task. I’d be curious to hear what those same executives thought about that decision alone.

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Travis Kelce mourns Chiefs’ free agency losses of Mecole Hardman, Orlando Brown Jr.

“It hurts to lose the good guys,” #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce said.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is coming to terms with losing some of his friends on the team during the course of the 2023 NFL free agency period.

Speaking with his brother, Jason Kelce, on their “New Heights Show” podcast this past week, the two recapped some recent moves in free agency. Travis spoke about the Chiefs losing former 2019 second-round draft pick Mecole Hardman, who signed with the New York Jets in free agency.

“I know the Chiefs have been making some moves and we lost a good guy,” Travis Kelce said. “We lost a good guy, man. We lost one of the good guys. Mecole Hardman. My brother went over to the New York Jets. Mecole ‘The Jet’ Hardman is now playing for the Jets. He is who he plays for. One of the fastest guys in the league, my dog Mecole, man. It hurts to lose the good guys. I miss him already.”

Travis said he hadn’t asked Hardman about the Aaron Rodgers situation and whether it played a role in his free agency decision. Perhaps we’ll hear about that in a future episode.

In addition to mourning Hardman’s departure, Travis also took a moment to mourn the “Legion of Zoom” wide receiver room comprised of Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson.

“You tweeted out over the weekend that the ‘Legion of Zoom’ is no more,” Jason Kelce said.

“It is no more,” Travis responded. “I’m the only zoom left.”

“You weren’t part of the zoom, Trav,” Jason joked.

“Well, you win some, you lose some,” Travis said with a big sigh.

During last week’s episode, Travis also took a moment to mourn the loss of another important teammate as LT Orlando Brown Jr. signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. This one hurt Kelce in particular because of the destination.

“It hurts. It hurts my soul, man. Hurts my soul. It’s like watching your best friend just turn evil on you,” Travis Kelce said. “It’s tough man. Obviously, I mean, the past like two years we’ve struggled beating the Bengals. So, there’s been a lot of like build up in emotion of like, I would say, not necessarily hate but just like dislike towards the Bengals because they keep beating us, and they keep talking about it every time they do. So, it’s like, to see him go to the dark side man, it’s an awkward feeling. Obviously, I hope that he has an absolute Hall of Fame career. You know what I mean? I wish nothing but the best for (Orlando Brown). He was an unbelievable leader. An unbelievable teammate on and off the field. We’ve got countless memories that I’ll cherish.”

Kelce is the longest-tenured player on the team, so he’s seen plenty of players come and go. It might lessen the blow slightly, but it can’t be easy seeing the brothers you’ve won a Super Bowl alongside leave for another team.

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