The longtime Atlanta linebacker will be tasked with announcing a player we hope is as productive as he was.
When the Atlanta Falcons are on the clock on day two of the 2025 NFL Draft, they’ll be hope to land a long-term starter, likely on defense. They’ll hope that player can have the kind of career enjoyed by Keith Brooking, the long-time Falcons linebacker who is set to announce the team’s second round pick.
Brooking is currently slated to just announce the one selection because that’s all the Falcons have on day two, but if Trading Terry Fontenot swings a move for additional selections, we could see him up there more than once.
Brooking originally joined the team in 1998 as their first round pick, selected 12th overall, and was easily the best pick the Falcons made that year. After spending the first year of his career as a reserve, Brooking was a full-time starter every subsequent year and a part-time starter for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s tied for 144th in league history for games played, which is an accomplishment in its own right.
Brooking’s tenure with the Atlanta Falcons ended on a sour note after coverage struggles against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2008 playoffs, and that might be the thing that sticks out for younger fans about his career. That’s a shame, because before that he had spent a bit over a decade as a quality starter for the team, delivering big hits and providing a steady level of play for a team that enjoyed some terrific defensive years they’ve never rarely matched since.
He finished that career in Atlanta in 2008, too, and now stands third in terms of tackles in Falcons history, sixth for tackles for a loss, 10th in forced fumbles, and 17th in interceptions. Brooking was a five time Pro Bowler—five years in a row, in fact—and a two-time second-team All-Pro.
If the Falcons get a player that productive with the pick he’s set to announce, we’d be over the moon. Let’s hope they do.