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WR Brandin Cooks, DAL (2 Viewers)

He was available for such good value this year that I'm struggling to fit him to my starting lineup ( flex ) and am not sure what to do. Benched Davante Adams for him last week which turned out great but that was a one off v Vikes, injured thing. Presumably there are others here that were able to grab him as a third WR as well ? It feels like there may be less variance/ down weeks this year, which has me debating whether or not he should be starting in my flex over some very decent RB options in non ppr. 

Not meant to be a veiled WDIS post, but more a question to the more knowledgeable posters, does his usage in these first two weeks indicate that he may be less of a boom bust option now, and have a much safer floor ?

 
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The strongest narrative in about Cooks all year was his downgrade at QB. No one really talked about the upgrade he has in the the running game. No one ever had to stack the box against the Pats or Saints when he was there. These Rams built a great "pick your poison" offense, and are using it beautifully. 

 
TartanLion said:
He was available for such good value this year that I'm struggling to fit him to my starting lineup ( flex ) and am not sure what to do. Benched Davante Adams for him last week which turned out great but that was a one off v Vikes, injured thing. Presumably there are others here that were able to grab him as a third WR as well ? It feels like there may be less variance/ down weeks this year, which has me debating whether or not he should be starting in my flex over some very decent RB options in non ppr. 

Not meant to be a veiled WDIS post, but more a question to the more knowledgeable posters, does his usage in these first two weeks indicate that he may be less of a boom bust option now, and have a much safer floor ?
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I try not to over think it. I saw what Goff was able to do with Robert Woods last year and feel confident in Cooks.

Guy is a burner and as previously mentioned, Gurley draws all the attention. Dude gets to run all across the field.

I got him as my WR3 behind Davante Adams and TY Hilton. You'll feel better once bye weeks start popping up and you "have" to start him.

 
FF Ninja said:
Waldman talking about Cooks
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As long as he keeps being utilized like this where he’s part of an overloaded formation as opposed to the lone guy on the other side of the field facing press coverage this is going to continue to go great.  

If you look at a route tree this video shows exactly the sort of positioning producing most of his targets and catches.  Plus it’s working for the team so why change a thing?

Huge improvement over how McVay said they were going to use him and I’ll take it.

 
Brandin Cooks caught 7-of-8 targets for 90 yards in the Rams' Week 3 win over the Chargers.

Cooks fell just one foot short of his first touchdown in a Rams uniform when he pulled in a tightly covered target across the middle. Despite not having a touchdown yet, Cooks looks very comfortable with Jared Goff and coach Sean McVay is crafting up a lot of plays to get Cooks involved. The speedster will look to find the end zone next Thursday against the Vikings as a WR2.

Sep 23 - 9:13 PM
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Rams receivers are gold. Didn’t target any of them in the draft but I landed Kupp as a consolation prize in a trade and it seems he is continuing his RZ beastliness from last year. Could do a whole lot worse for a WR4. 

Had Cooks in multiple FD lineups and will def keep an eye on him going forward because he isn’t one most people roster consistently. 

 
As the announcers kept mentioning, he’s a complete WR, not just a burner. McVey may go down as the greatest offensive mind of this generation. I look forward to seeing how an angry Viking D fares against this O on TNF

 
Milkman said:
So close to a monster day. Inches from a TD and almost came down with a 40 yard pass......could have easily had 8-130-1 today.........still another good day for Cooks. 
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Watching game replay right now and ya, this guy is due for a massive stat line any week now.  Easily could have had a 25-30 fantasy point day and been the topic of the week.

The 40 yard TD pass he dropped (after being fouled) was against extremely physical contact starting right at the line, his weakness historically, and still almost had the catch. 

Very impressed with this guy.  Optimal usage in this system.  Happy to have been wrong about him a couple weeks back and hope it stays this way all season

 
Is he a must start tonight? Love the usage but it's a short week and worried MIN D will be pissed after losing to BUF. Does Rhodes shadow him?

 
Milkman said:
He's top 5 in receiving yards and on pace for 130+ targets. Doesn't seem like a WR you can ever sit.......
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I hear you. Just concerned about the matchup. MIN secondary is very solid. I have Tyreek + Manny Sanders facing off which could be better options. I'm probably overthinking it. 

 
sped1103 said:
I hear you. Just concerned about the matchup. MIN secondary is very solid. I have Tyreek + Manny Sanders facing off which could be better options. I'm probably overthinking it. 
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Always Start Your Studs. He may disappoint but you can’t sit him. 

 
Rhodes won’t be shadowing him.  

That offense is getting more complicated and adding more wrinkles every week.  It’s impressive and you can tell Cooks is an important part of where this offense is going, especially if you look at how Cooks RZ/near RZ usage has changed and grown since week 1.

There will be some monster games this year, probably a few that will disappoint at some point too.  Im starting him with confidence every week though

 
sped1103 said:
Is he a must start tonight? Love the usage but it's a short week and worried MIN D will be pissed after losing to BUF. Does Rhodes shadow him?
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The way Rhodes has been playing so far this year, that wouldn't be a knock for Cooks at all.

 
I'm not concerned this week. Starting Cooks with confidence

I am somewhat regretting trading him away in my dynasty league, but I'm pleased with what I got so I can't be too upset. Glad he fell into my lap 5.8 in my redraft

 
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So glad I got him as my WR2. What made me target him was Chris Harris' podcast, when he pointed out that, throughout his career, regardless of situation, Cooks has never not produced.

 
Traded him away in redraft, not because I didn’t like him but because I felt it was an upgrade.

Best part is the trade was to the team I’m matched up against this week.

So get ready for an explosion of touchdowns to rub salt in my wounds.

 
jtp1982 said:
Rhodes won’t be shadowing him.  

That offense is getting more complicated and adding more wrinkles every week.  It’s impressive and you can tell Cooks is an important part of where this offense is going, especially if you look at how Cooks RZ/near RZ usage has changed and grown since week 1.

There will be some monster games this year, probably a few that will disappoint at some point too.  Im starting him with confidence every week though
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He was stopped at the 1 inch line and another at the 1 yard line. Easily could have had two TDs to go along with last weeks performance. Any week he gets a TD will be 20+ points most likely and his floor is looking real nice so far, especially considering the RAMS are leading most of the time and ending games with more than 9 points leads. It's scary to think about his potential in a shootout with NO,GB,KC on the docket.

 
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Brandin Cooks racked up seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown on eight targets while adding a 10-yard rush Thursday in the Rams’ Week 4 victory over Minnesota.

Cooks beat the absolute pants off Trae Waynes with a sparkling 47-yard touchdown grab late in the first half on a beautifully-placed deep ball by Jared Goff, who was throwing dimes all night. The 25-year-old later clowned Xavier Rhodes for a 23-yard pickup in the fourth quarter. Cooks did cough up the football in the red zone after getting laid out by Mike Hughes, though the Rams were able to fall on it. Playing on his third team in as many years, Cooks has made a seamless transition to Sean McVay’s offense, eclipsing 80 yards in each of his four contests this season. He’ll remain a rock-solid WR2 next week when the undefeated Rams visit Seattle.

Sep 28 - 12:31 AM
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Got him later in the draft to make up for some bonehead earlier picks, may have helped salvage my season.. happy to have him....

 
Dr. Octopus said:
I own him in 2 of 4 dynasty leagues and he fell to 6.09 in my redraft where I snagged him. I'm fine with the rest of the fantasy world continuing to under-rate him.
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It wasn't under rating. He was so boom or bust in New England and New Orleans and he would always go in the 2nd round of drafts. 

I don't think anyone questioned his talent, just his usage. You would pay a wr1 price for him to get some a lot of bad stat lines and then a week winning stat line. We all want more consistent stats from our top picks and he just didn't provide it in his previous 2 spots. We are now seeing it with his usage for the Rams. He will be back to a 2nd round pick next year, but his usage will back it up. 

 
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If this offense ever slows down, he's going to slow down as well to what we've come to know. He's not the #1 target in this offense it seems, so he may have a few stinkers. The good news is that this offense is showing no signs of slowing down. I've actually canceled several trade talks trying to net a low end WR1/high end WR2 due to Cooks' play. 

On a side note, I can't get over how tiny he looks out there. 

 
msudaisy26 said:
It wasn't under rating. He was so boom or bust in New England and New Orleans and he would always go in the 2nd round of drafts. 

I don't think anyone questioned his talent, just his usage. You would pay a wr1 price for him to get some a lot of bad stat lines and then a week winning stat line. We all want more consistent stats from our top picks and he just didn't provide it in his previous 2 spots. We are now seeing it with his usage for the Rams. He will be back to a 2nd round pick next year, but his usage will back it up. 
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Meh he finshed a few of those years in the top 10 so he wasn't really a WR2 either......

 
Dr. Dan said:
If this offense ever slows down, he's going to slow down as well to what we've come to know. He's not the #1 target in this offense it seems, so he may have a few stinkers. The good news is that this offense is showing no signs of slowing down. I've actually canceled several trade talks trying to net a low end WR1/high end WR2 due to Cooks' play. 

On a side note, I can't get over how tiny he looks out there. 
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He's not the #1 target? Not sure that's established yet.........

 
It doesn't matter who is the "established" #1 target in LA. Each have their own functions and talents to offer. Cooks is the fastest of the bunch. And he always produces. Yardage will be there; more TD's would be the cream on top. 1,200 yards and 8 TD's not out of the question. That's pretty solid. Even 6-8 TD's and 1,400 yards.

 
Milkman said:
He's not the #1 target? Not sure that's established yet.........
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He's the #1 threat IMO. I wouldn't say he was the #1 target. Woods or Kupp seem to be the #1 target. At least they're the guys Goff is going to in the middle of the field. Cooks is definitely the deep threat option, and gets some shorter routes to try and make a play with his speed. 

Currently the targets are evenly distributed, so if one was looking at the stat sheet they'd say there is no #1 target. And maybe that's true. I'm just speaking in terms of game flow. It seemed like when they needed a 1st down, he would look to Woods or Kupp. When they were looking to make a play, or score, Cooks was a big target. 

This is exactly how I see MIN... Diggs is the #1 WR on that team, but really Thielen is the best WR to own because he gets the targets when they need the first down. I made this statement last off season, that Thelien was the WR to own in the MIN offense, and was ridiculed. Then last year came along and I was proven correct. I see the same kind of situation in LA with Cooks.

Cooks is definitely a great WR to own, but Kupp and Woods are more game flow proof for fantasy purposes than Cooks is, IMO. 
ETA: I'm not saying Cooks isn't the WR to have in this offense. This offense is dynamic enough to support 3 WR options, and even a RB.  That's pretty awesome. I'm just saying Cooks is not as game flow proof as the other 2 WRs. If I could have any of the 3, my #1 choice would be Kupp, #2 Cooks, #3 Woods. Which, oddly enough, is how they rank in my PPR league (looked after I typed that, promise)

 
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Team Smokin' said:
It doesn't matter who is the "established" #1 target in LA. Each have their own functions and talents to offer. Cooks is the fastest of the bunch. And he always produces. Yardage will be there; more TD's would be the cream on top. 1,200 yards and 8 TD's not out of the question. That's pretty solid. Even 6-8 TD's and 1,400 yards.
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I think this is a realistic expectation. 

 
Dr. Dan said:
He's the #1 threat IMO. I wouldn't say he was the #1 target. Woods or Kupp seem to be the #1 target. At least they're the guys Goff is going to in the middle of the field. Cooks is definitely the deep threat option, and gets some shorter routes to try and make a play with his speed. 

Currently the targets are evenly distributed, so if one was looking at the stat sheet they'd say there is no #1 target. And maybe that's true. I'm just speaking in terms of game flow. It seemed like when they needed a 1st down, he would look to Woods or Kupp. When they were looking to make a play, or score, Cooks was a big target. 

This is exactly how I see MIN... Diggs is the #1 WR on that team, but really Thielen is the best WR to own because he gets the targets when they need the first down. I made this statement last off season, that Thelien was the WR to own in the MIN offense, and was ridiculed. Then last year came along and I was proven correct. I see the same kind of situation in LA with Cooks.

Cooks is definitely a great WR to own, but Kupp and Woods are more game flow proof for fantasy purposes than Cooks is, IMO. 
ETA: I'm not saying Cooks isn't the WR to have in this offense. This offense is dynamic enough to support 3 WR options, and even a RB.  That's pretty awesome. I'm just saying Cooks is not as game flow proof as the other 2 WRs. If I could have any of the 3, my #1 choice would be Kupp, #2 Cooks, #3 Woods. Which, oddly enough, is how they rank in my PPR league (looked after I typed that, promise)
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Cooks has been the most consistent through 4 games. Kupp just had a monster game. We'll see how it all shakes out. Hard situation to predict right now. 

 
Milkman said:
Cooks has been the most consistent through 4 games. Kupp just had a monster game. We'll see how it all shakes out. Hard situation to predict right now. 
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Definitely. 4 games is hardly a good sample size. I agree, Cooks has been the most consistent. He may win me my league if he keeps this up, which I can't complain about at all. 

 
Dr. Dan said:
Definitely. 4 games is hardly a good sample size. I agree, Cooks has been the most consistent. He may win me my league if he keeps this up, which I can't complain about at all. 
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The thing is Cooks hasn't had a blow up game yet that he seems to have 3-4 times a year. Kupp just had his first blow up game. 

Honestly the way Cooks is being used.....in the offense he is in with the QB he has.....he has legit #1 WR in FF upside this year. 

 
Love Cooks, got him in about 25% of my redraft leagues.  In one league, I have Cooks, Tyreek and Landry paired with Zeke.  Couldn't be happier.

 
Milkman said:
Meh he finshed a few of those years in the top 10 so he wasn't really a WR2 either......
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He was top 10, but it was so weak. He would have 3 games that were week winners he would get like 450 to 500 yards in those weeks and 4 to 6 of his touchdowns. Then the rest of the year he would basically put up wr3 numbers on his way to 1100ish yards and 8ish tds. 

It is difficult to draft a guy in the 2nd round to be your wr1 or even a high wr2 if you go zero back. This year his bad games are 5 for 90. That is fantastic. 

 
Cooks has been remarkably consistent this year.  In the past he was hit or miss and dependent on the long TDs and occasional blow up games.  I agree that he is a WR 1 going forward in this offense.

 
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