After signing a well-deserved four-year contract extension on Monday afternoon, Brandon Brooks started the week off on a high note. Little did Pro Football Focus' highest-rated offensive lineman know that the recognition was only just beginning. Brooks was named the Philadelphia Eagles' recipient of the 2019 Ed Block Courage Award on Thursday.

This honor goes to National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. All 32 teams in the league vote every year to select their Ed Block Courage Award winner for that season. Brooks was selected in a vote by his teammates based on team effort as well as individual performance. Recipients are often players who have overcome devastating injuries or tragedies in their personal lives to return to top-level competition in the NFL. Brooks' ability to overcome adversity stems from his instinct to attack every situation in a similar fashion.

"I always just try to lead by example," Brooks said. "I think it's the best when you lead in the direction that everybody else or you want everybody else to go. For me, attacking the rehab or attacking practice or the way I do things every day is how I lead."

It is well known by now the strength and commitment that Brooks displayed as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon in last January's playoff loss in New Orleans. In most cases, this injury would keep a player down for close to a calendar year. Brooks didn't miss a single game. He is, in fact, playing the best football of his career. According to PFF, he hasn't allowed a sack and is on pace for the fourth-highest rating of any right guard in the analytics service's history (since 2007).

"Being on the field Week 1 meant the most and when I got hurt, and obviously it's an Achilles injury, pretty serious injury, a lot of things were said as far as when I'll be back, if I'll be back, would I be the same player, so on and so forth," Brooks said. "Being a better player than I was before I got hurt probably was the biggest thing for me."

When Brooks' name is brought up in the Eagles' locker room, only positive things are said about his talent and character. This starts with the guy who lines up on his right side, All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson. The bond Johnson and Brooks share on and off the field is truly unmatched. Johnson not only thinks Brooks deserves the Ed Block Courage Award, but also puts his name in the NFL Comeback Player of the Year conversation.