Brooks carried three times for 16 yards and caught both of his targets for 20 yards in Saturday's preseason game against the Bears.
With Chase Brown and Samaje Perine rested in the contest, Brooks was in a Saturday starting lineup that featured reserve skill players. As the coming campaign approaches, Brooks continues to slot in behind Brown and Perine on the Bengals' unofficial depth chart, but after recording just 16 carries for 45 yards and one catch for nine yards across 16 regular-season games in 2025, some uptick in volume is plausible for the second-year player out of Texas Tech, who is also in the mix for special-teams work.