Football

Putting into Dolphins Historical Perspective the 2025 Season That's Earned Brooks National Recognition

By Alain Poupart Sports Illustrated

Jordyn Brooks' 2025 performance was good enough to earn him first-team AP All-Pro recognition, so it figured he'd come up sooner or later on the NFL's annual Top 100 list heading into next season.

And so it was that Brooks was unveiled as the number 67 player Tuesday, the same day the ESPN poll of league executive, scouts and coaches had him in the top 10 among linebackers at number 9.

In the ESPN poll, Brooks was ranked as high as third by some of the poll participants.

Said an anonymous NFL coordinator: "Brooks has a skill set similar to Demario Davis when he was young -- really strong, fast, physical, can play in space, very good tackler."

Brooks' 2025 season was highlighted by his NFL-leading 183 tackles but also included 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

Brooks became the third Dolphins linebacker (not including edge defenders like Jason Taylor or Cameron Wake) to be selected as a first-team All-Pro, joining John Offerdahl in 1990 and Zach Thomas, who did it five times during his Hall of Fame career.

Dolphins linebackers who earned second-team AP All-Pro recognition were Thomas, Offerdahl, and Nick Buoniconti.

The question thus becomes where to place Brooks' 2025 performance among the best in Dolphins history for a linebacker.

Based on the All-Pro nod, you'd have to go back to Thomas' days to find anything as impressive as what Brooks did last year, though we'd be remiss not to mention Kiko Alonso's 2016 performance when he had four fumble recoveries and two interceptions, including a game-winning pick-six at San Diego, to help the Dolphins make the playoffs.

So where to slot in Brooks while we wait for him to get his contract extension with the Dolphins?

THE BEST DOLPHINS LINEBACKER SEASONS

1. Zach Thomas, 1998 - 137 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 pick-sixes, 3 forced fumbles

5. Nick Buoniconti, 1972 - 146 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interception, second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting

2. Zach Thomas, 2003 - 153 tackles, 3 interceptions, 10 passes defensed

3. Steve Towle, 1976 - 217 tackles, 1 sack

6. Jordyn Brooks, 2025 - 183 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks

4. John Offerdahl, 1990 - 116 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception

9. Zach Thomas, 2006 - 165 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles

7. Kiko Alonso, 2016 - 115 tackles, 2 interception, 1 pick-six, 4 fumble recoveries

8. John Offerdahl, 1986 - 135 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles

10. Karlos Dansby, 2011 - 102 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 12:55 PM.

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