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WR Brandin Cooks, Free Agent (8 Viewers)

I was not really targeting Cooks in redraft b/c I generally have very low expectations for rookie WRs and actually thought Colston was the value play in NO. But as we know things change...my auction took some unexpected turns and I found myself scrambling for upside at the flex position and had to spend more than I wanted to on Cooks.

All that to say that I'm admittedly biased now but I think Cooks could be in line for a really special rookie season. The way Brees and others have talked about his maturity and how quickly he's picked up the offense combined with his speed and explosiveness and the creativity of Payton as a play-caller has me fully drinking the kool-aid at this point.

Below is a list some website compiled of the top 20 rookie WR seasons of the last 20 years. It's from 2013 so Keenan Allen is not listed. I believe he would rank 5th on this list.

http://www.sportingcharts.com/articles/nfl/top-20-rookie-receiving-seasons-in-the-past-20-years.aspx

Is 80 receptions 1000 yards and 7-8 TDs within reason. I think so but a lot depends on snap counts and other factors. Curious to thoughts on Cooks now that we are on the eve of week 1.

 
I was looking at another small rookie WR stats from last year I think Cooks compares favorably to. Tavon Austin had 40-418-4 receiving on 69 targets. Cooks is better, NO throws the ball more, and Brees is arguably the best QB in the league so it looks like Cooks floor is something like 55-600-3 and his ceiling is probably 80-1000-8. Don't forget they will probably give him 1-2 hand offs a game on reverses so that's another 15-20 carries for 150-200 yards (good chance he'll break one for a big gain) and maybe a 1-2 TD's.

So

Floor= 55-600-3 Receiving 15-150-1 Rushing

Ceiling = 80-1000-8 Receiving 20-200-2 Rushing

 
Milkman said:
I was looking at another small rookie WR stats from last year I think Cooks compares favorably to. Tavon Austin had 40-418-4 receiving on 69 targets. Cooks is better, NO throws the ball more, and Brees is arguably the best QB in the league so it looks like Cooks floor is something like 55-600-3 and his ceiling is probably 80-1000-8. Don't forget they will probably give him 1-2 hand offs a game on reverses so that's another 15-20 carries for 150-200 yards (good chance he'll break one for a big gain) and maybe a 1-2 TD's.

So

Floor= 55-600-3 Receiving 15-150-1 Rushing

Ceiling = 80-1000-8 Receiving 20-200-2 Rushing
Click to expand...
Just curious, where does 80-1200-10 put him in the final WR ranks?

 
LawFitz said:
Milkman said:
I was looking at another small rookie WR stats from last year I think Cooks compares favorably to. Tavon Austin had 40-418-4 receiving on 69 targets. Cooks is better, NO throws the ball more, and Brees is arguably the best QB in the league so it looks like Cooks floor is something like 55-600-3 and his ceiling is probably 80-1000-8. Don't forget they will probably give him 1-2 hand offs a game on reverses so that's another 15-20 carries for 150-200 yards (good chance he'll break one for a big gain) and maybe a 1-2 TD's.

So

Floor= 55-600-3 Receiving 15-150-1 Rushing

Ceiling = 80-1000-8 Receiving 20-200-2 Rushing
Click to expand...
Just curious, where does 80-1200-10 put him in the final WR ranks?
Click to expand...
WR14 last year

ETA: Assuming PPR

 
Last edited by a moderator:
That would equate to 260 points in my league which would have been good for WR14. Everything would have to break really good for him though. TD are nearly impossible to predict and he could get them in bunches and then not score at all for 6-7 weeks in row.

 
Anyone had any success trading for Cooks before the season starts?

I offered R. Wayne for him, but haven't heard back. Can be hard to establish value on a rookie preseason, but just one of those guys I want on all of my teams for the upside.

 
I picked him at 7.09 in a 12 team .5 PPR last night. 31st receiver off the board.

He was the 5th receiver that I picked (after J.Jones, V. Jackson, E. Sanders, V. Jackson). When I picked him I heard a few "guppies" whisper, "Who?" as they shuffled through their notes. They'll know 'who' soon enough.

 
I should know this, but is he solidified as the starter opposite colston? I mean is he staying outside all game and playing majority of snaps?

 
Lord of the Rings said:
I picked him at 7.09 in a 12 team .5 PPR last night. 31st receiver off the board.

He was the 5th receiver that I picked (after J.Jones, V. Jackson, E. Sanders, V. Jackson). When I picked him I heard a few "guppies" whisper, "Who?" as they shuffled through their notes. They'll know 'who' soon enough.
Click to expand...
Damn. You got TWO V. Jacksons? Championship.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jimbo Slice said:
I should know this, but is he solidified as the starter opposite colston? I mean is he staying outside all game and playing majority of snaps?
Click to expand...
I doubt that he's staying outside all the time given that the Stills/Devery Henderson role has been pretty established on the Saints for years. Doesn't mean Cooks won't be on the field a ton or the majority of snaps as the third receiver/slot, or sometimes push Colston to the slot.
 
I'd actually expect more slot from colston with cooks/stills on the outside, but I haven't read much or seen any saints pre.

the question becomes - can he supplant stills in 2 wide?

 
We Tigers said:
Jimbo Slice said:
I should know this, but is he solidified as the starter opposite colston? I mean is he staying outside all game and playing majority of snaps?
Click to expand...
I doubt that he's staying outside all the time given that the Stills/Devery Henderson role has been pretty established on the Saints for years. Doesn't mean Cooks won't be on the field a ton or the majority of snaps as the third receiver/slot, or sometimes push Colston to the slot.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I don't think we can say for sure until we see how it plays out once the real games start. The Saints website has an "unofficial" depth chart that list Cooks behind Colston and Toon as the 3rd WR at one spot and list Stills and Joseph Morgan at the other spot. I don't think this means anything at all though.

My guess is that he will be moved around a ton playing some on the outside but mostly in the slot. I would also wager that at season's end and barring injury he will be 2nd on the team in WR snaps.

But we shall see.

 
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.

 
Yeah not sure it will be this week but i get the feeling he's going to have some monster weeks. 6-7 catches where he takes a couple all the way and ends up with 150+ yards and 2-3 TD's.

 
(HULK) said:
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.
Click to expand...
I don't think the Falcons can stop anyone.

 
Grahamburn said:
(HULK) said:
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.
Click to expand...
I don't think the Falcons can stop anyone.
Click to expand...
Take that Falcons fans!

 
Grahamburn said:
(HULK) said:
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.
Click to expand...
I don't think the Falcons can stop anyone.
Click to expand...
Lol. But they'll be focused on Graham anyways. Cooks is going to catch them with their pants down imo.

 
I know it's very convenient to compare Cooks to Tavon Austin.

Yet from watching both extensively in preseason I can tell you that situations aside, they came off as 2 completely different players.

I'm not sure if Tavon wasn't ready for the NFL, but his skillset immediately looked like they pretty much hit a wall. He looked physically overwhelmed in his first preseason games and basically just juked alot going nowhere. I believe my comparisons for him at the time was "another Dante Hall".

Cooks on the other hand compares more favorably to Harvin IMO than austin. He's shown a nose for the football while it's in the air and wastes little time getting upfield. He is not as physically aggresive as Harvin, but exhibits the same acceleration. However mostly it's his ability to compete for the football while it's in the air that has surprised me.

Quite simply put, Austin looked overwhelmed in his initial NFL stint, while Cooks looks like he belongs.

 
(HULK) said:
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.
Click to expand...
This is my exact problem in our Pack dynasty league. Right now he's on the bench in favor of Keenan Allen, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders. My only other option is to bench Vernon Davis for Cooks. That'd be ballsy. Too ballsy.

 
Jeff Vader said:
(HULK) said:
I can't shake the feeling that he is going to have an epic debut this week. Like taking 2 or 3 to the house. Guy is a missle. Stills is dinged and might not even play. There isn't much tape on him and I doubt the Falcons are tailoring their D to stop him (probably much more concerned with shutting down Graham imo). He'll get some catches in space and just be gone. Come Monday, he will be the talk of the board.

Of course I could be way off, but I'm having a tough time keeping him on benches even though I've got excellent other options.
Click to expand...
This is my exact problem in our Pack dynasty league. Right now he's on the bench in favor of Keenan Allen, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders. My only other option is to bench Vernon Davis for Cooks. That'd be ballsy. Too ballsy.
Click to expand...
I have no qualms starting him in the Pack auction league though, because my WRs stink in that league. On the bench in the other 2 league I have him in, but I'll probably regret that come Monday. I dunno, maybe this is just me wanting to play with a shiny new toy.

 
I'm starting him over Reggie Wayne in a PPR league. Want to see that Wayne is 100% back and still has it before I start him.

 
Gonna be tough not to start him going forward. I know the Saints like to spread the ball around, but he seems to be a favorite target of Brees already.

 
I'm going to rewatch the game but it seemed like Brees was looking Cooks way first every play. The problem is Cooks might only be on the field half the snaps he was this week when Stills comes back.

 
Milkman said:
I'm going to rewatch the game but it seemed like Brees was looking Cooks way first every play. The problem is Cooks might only be on the field half the snaps he was this week when Stills comes back.
Click to expand...
That's how Brees is, he has his favorites, it was Sproles, Colston and Graham, now it looks like Cooks, Colston and Graham. Over and over and over again. I'm not sure what effect Stills will have but another way to look at this is that this was just Cooks first game, the bond will develop more possibly, not less.

 
Milkman said:
I'm going to rewatch the game but it seemed like Brees was looking Cooks way first every play. The problem is Cooks might only be on the field half the snaps he was this week when Stills comes back.
Click to expand...
Cooks had 52 snaps while Morgan had 49. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was Morgan who took over Stills's duties in this offense. Looked to me Cooks's role was more Lance Moore/Darren Sproles than Devery Henderson/Robert Meachem (which Stills's box scores from last season resembled).

 
LawFitz said:
Milkman said:
The problem is Cooks might only be on the field half the snaps he was this week when Stills comes back.
Click to expand...
Cooks >>>>>>>> Stills
Click to expand...
Cooks=STUD! I said it before the season and I'll say it again. Get him while you can still afford it.

 
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