GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
American Football · Linebacker · United States

Derrick Brooks

1995–2008 · Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and a Super Bowl champion.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
89.0
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 78.4
Pro Bowls
11
Defensive Player of the Year awards
1
Super Bowl titles
1
Interceptions
25
Consecutive starts
208

Category profile

Dominance
86
Peak
94
Longevity
88
Honours
88
Statistics
90

Career timeline · Touchdowns per season

SeasonTouchdowns per seasonShare of career
199550
199657
199763
199870
199977
200084
200190
200297
200391
200485
200579
200672
200766
200860

Data sources

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • Pro Football Reference
  • NFL official records

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Derrick Brooks ranks #41 in American Football

Derrick Brooks ranks 41st among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 1585th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 89.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 86, Peak 94, Longevity 88, Honours 88, Statistics 90. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 340 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1995–2008 with 14 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2002, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes pro bowls 11, defensive player of the year awards 1, super bowl titles 1, interceptions 25.

Immediately ahead sits Steve Largent on 89.1, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Doug Atkins on 89.0. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Derrick Brooks GOAT Score explained

Dominance86/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Brooks stood above the field while competing. Scored 86/100 against the full American Football cohort.
Peak94/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2002. Scored 94/100.
Longevity88/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 13 years of competition and 14 recorded seasons. Scored 88/100.
Honours88/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.

Derrick Brooks — frequently asked

Is Derrick Brooks the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Derrick Brooks ranks 41st in American Football with a GOAT Score of 89.0, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
What is Derrick Brooks's GOAT Score?
89.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 86 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 88 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Derrick Brooks rank all time?
1585th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 41st within American Football.
Derrick Brooks vs Steve Largent: who ranks higher?
Steve Largent, on 89.1 against Derrick Brooks's 89.0 — a margin of 0.1 points.
Compare with Brady