Brooks Lennon's defensive evolution

From Liverpool winger to an Atlanta United fullback finding his way

via Atlanta United

In 2020, Brooks Lennon finished in the 16th percentile among fullbacks in one-v-one defending per FBref. He stopped 37% of players who attempted to dribble by him. In 2021 he finished in the 24th percentile. In 2022, the 46th. In 2023, Lennon stopped 57% of the attempts to dribble by him, a 62nd percentile performance. 

It’s not a perfect stat but it is an illustrative one. Year over year, the 26-year-old has shown linear improvement at a skill he didn’t need for the majority of his soccer life. When you pair that with the attacking ability he’s cultivated from the beginning, you get a near-Best XI-caliber season that featured four goals, ten assists and a clear step forward defensively. 

Lennon grew up in the Phoenix area, commuting back and forth to Real Salt Lake’s Arizona-based academy in Casa Grande, Ariz. That’s where he started to stand out to RSL and to teams abroad, not as a fullback, but as a winger with the ability to play as a false nine. Liverpool FC took notice. In 2015, Lennon left Arizona for Merseyside. He began playing on the right wing for Liverpool’s academy teams, where, at times, he’d be paired with a young fullback named Trent Alexander-Arnold.  Eventually, Lennon earned a three-year professional contract with the club. 

In early 2017, Lennon returned to RSL on loan. He spent the season in attack, picking up three goals and four assists in 15 starts. In December, RSL signed Lennon on a permanent deal.

He didn’t have a clear role in the starting lineup when 2018 began, but RSL did have a clear hole at fullback after starting right back Tony Beltran tore his ACL. That hole became readily apparent in RSL’s home opener when LAFC scored five times at Rio Tinto Stadium. Head coach Mike Petke, looking for some kind of spark in attack that might get RSL back into the game, threw Lennon on as an attack-minded fullback. In training the next week, Lennon shifted to right back. He started the next game and then every game after that in 2018.

“I’m learning things on the fly because I have never played a defensive position my whole life,” Lennon said. “And then all of a sudden I'm in MLS