For some college football prospects, the frustration of going overlooked in the seven rounds of the annual NFL Draft can be a blessing in disguise. That’s because it allows fringe players to actually choose where they go and have some control over their professional futures.

For Phillip Brooks, it meant a chance to make a dream come true—even for a spell.

Brooks, who is a K.C. native, is a graduate of Lee’s Summit West and went to college in Manhattan at Kansas State. While he went unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft, Brooks landed an opportunity to sign with the Chiefs as a rookie free agent, which gave him the chance to make a “dream come true.”

“I’m from Kansas City—Lee’s Summit, Missouri—and I grew up a Chiefs fan in a family of Chiefs fans so this is a dream come true for me. I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” said Brooks in a media session on Monday.

The Kansas State product spoke to reporters about joining the Chiefs and rookie minicamp results.

While Brooks admitted that his background was “part of the reason” for signing with the Chiefs over other teams, he also said there are very real football reasons, too. “I talked to my agent and family and this was the best fit for my type of play style as well.”

Brooks said he grew up going to a few games at Arrowhead each year and some of his favorite players were Chiefs who visited with his youth football team. “When I was younger, I played for this team called the Thunder and Dwayne Bowe and Dontari Poe would come to our little camps and stuff. They kinda made an impact on me and they were my favorite players at the time for sure.”

Over the weekend, Brooks came into Arrowhead with dozens of other young players for the team’s annual rookie minicamp. It’s a three-day event that brings together the draft class, rookie free agents, tryout players, and young holdovers from last season to compete together and learn the first steps at the professional level.

“I’d say I had a solid weekend,” said Brooks when asked how it went. “I missed some things I could have cleaned up but it’s like freshman year again in college. Re-learning all the plays. Once I get comfortable doing that and learning the system more, I can play my game more.”

While Brooks showcased plenty of offensive production with the Wildcats with 14 receiving touchdowns and 2,127 yards in his career, his immediate value for the Chiefs will be on special teams and he knows it.

“I learned at K-State that special teams is one of the three phases on the field just like offense and defense, so we take a lot of pride in special teams and that’s what I intend to do here. I believe that’s how I’m going to make it here. I believe that’s how I’m gonna get on the field here.”

Perhaps the best advice about making the team came to Brooks via a former K-State teammate in last year’s first-round selection for the Chiefs: defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

“He just told me, ‘We win championships here, so come with that mentality with your work ethic and doing everything right on and off the field.’ The professionalism here is great. The work ethic. All of that. He told me to come in ready to go because they’re not playing no games. Trying to get back to that Super Bowl again.”