Saturday, the running backs at the 2025 NFL Combine took center stage as they went through their on-field workouts. That meant that former Texas Tech star Tahj Brooks had his opportunity to impress. Fortunately, he didn't disappoint.
What most people wanted to see from Brooks was his 40-yard dash time. That's because his speed is the biggest question about his game.
In that drill, Brooks ran a time of 4.52 seconds. While that didn't set any records, it was a bit quicker than many thought he might run.
Part of what made Brooks faster was the fact that he dropped a considerable bit of weight for the Combine. While he weighed around 230-235 pounds when he played for the Red Raiders, this week, he tipped the scales at a trim 214 pounds.
"Two-time captain. First team Academic All-American. Best blocking back in this Draft. That's the stuff you don't get in YouTube highlight reels. It's what you learn in conversations here in Indy."@pschrags on @TexasTechFB RB Tahj Brooks pic.twitter.com/BhJBAzKjP0
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) March 1, 2025
In other drills, he was even more impressive, though. For instance, he had the best 3-cone drill for a running back with a time of 6.9 seconds. He also led all running backs with a 4.06-second time in the shuttle time.
In the broad jump, he reached 10 feet even. Meanwhile, in the vertical jump, he touched 35 inches. That showed his explosiveness, something that NFL scouts will appreciate.
Overall, Brooks scored a 7.45 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) on a scale of 10.0. According to Kent Lee Platte on X, that is the 487th-best score out of the 1,909 running backs to be tested at the combine from 1987 to 2025.
Tahj Brooks is a RB prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 7.45 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 487 out of 1909 RB from 1987 to 2025.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 1, 2025
Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/mYSAISSb7K pic.twitter.com/tyGjpNyQil
In other words, Brooks did about as well as anyone could have expected of him at the combine. That will only help his NFL Draft stock.
Brooks will get a chance to work out for scouts again at the Big 12 Pro Day, which will be held March 18-21. However, it is hard to imagine that he will have much more to prove than he did this weekend in Indianapolis.