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WR Brandin Cooks, Free Agent (2 Viewers)

Rotoworld:

The Saints plan to open the season with Brandin Cooks and Marques Colston at the top of their depth chart.
New Orleans traded Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills this offseason, leaving Cooks and Colston as the favorites for targets. Cooks was limited to playing the slot in 10 games as a rookie, but projects to move outside in base sets. The Saints are likely to add competition for Colston, with Louisville’s DeVante Parker and Miami’s Phillip Dorsett among their pre-draft visits. Nick Toon, Joe Morgan, and Brandon Coleman are also competing for snaps.

Related: Marques Colston

Source: New Orleans Advocate
Apr 18 - 2:58 PM
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Drew Brees 'excited' to move forward with revamped roster, including Brandin Cooks

Excerpt:

One of those guys is second-year receiver Brandin Cooks, who was really starting to hit his stride when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury in Week 10 last year. Of all the rookie receivers who burst into the scene in the NFL last year, Cooks was actually leading all rookie receivers with 53 receptions at the time of his injury. And the Saints were starting to consistently hit on some deep balls to the 5-10, 189-pound speedster.

Brees said he and Cooks have already spent some time training together this offseason in San Diego, where Brees calls home base when he's not in New Orleans.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah," Brees said when asked if Cooks is one of the guys he's excited to watch develop. "Man, I love everything about him, his makeup, and then just his physical ability. I mean he's got all kinds of talent."
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Re-drafting the 2014 wide receiver class

Excerpt:

Brandin Cooks, New Orleans SaintsThe Saints spent the summer hyping Cooks as an uncoverable chess piece with dynamic playmaking ability. As so often happens with lightning-quick jitterbugs, though, efficiency waned once the hitting starts.

Cooks can't hang with John Brown outside the numbers or on vertical routes. Held below 9.0 yards per reception primarily on slip screens, swing passes and quick slants early on, he didn't show field-stretching ability until coach Sean Payton expanded his route responsibilities at midseason. On pace for 85 receptions and roughly 1,000 yards from scrimmage, the 2013 Biletnikoff Award was just beginning to hit his stride when a broken thumb ended his season in mid-November.

Payton has shown a knack for taking advantage of "satellite" weapons such as Cooks, with rare suddenness and agility in space. Because of the injury, though, we didn't get a chance to see the Oregon State star's full route tree -- or enough of his 4.33 wheels down the field. With Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills out of the picture, Cooks' role is certain to expand in 2015.

The Question: Is he strong enough to break tackles?

Much like slightly-built running back-receiver hybrids Dexter McCluster and Tavon Austin, Cooks struggled to break tackles in his early-season Percy Harvin role. If he's going to be limited to those high-percentage, quick-hitting routes in addition to end-arounds and jet sweeps, he needs to add a fraction of Harvin's power.

Comparison: Tavon Austin-DeSean Jackson hybrid
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http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2015/04/brandin_cooks_new_orleans_sain_1.html

The New Orleans Saints' Brandin Cooks entered the NFL in 2014 and sought to find a veteran receiver most like him from whom to receive advice. He found that player in Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.

"He's around my stature," the 5-foot-10 Cooks said in a video posted by gritmedia.co. "He's not the tallest, he's not the biggest."

In 2014, he was one of the best. Brown led the NFL in catches (129) and receiving yards (1,689) and scored 13 touchdowns.

"Throughout the season I would just text him, you know, ask him questions," Cooks said. "How'd you get your (footwork) so good? How do you get in and out of your breaks so well? How do you separate from defenders so well?"

Cooks said he and Brown met at a shoe company function and exchanged numbers.

"I'm trying to get better," Cooks said. "I want to learn from the best, and those who are doing it at such a high level, pick their brain and see what they do differently from everyone else."

Cooks said Brown "always showed excitement when he texts back or when we talk. He gives a lot of feedback. He doesn't send back one-word answers or a short message. If I got a question, he goes into depth and answers those questions for me."
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Cooks is less than 9 months older than Amari Cooper.

He's 15 months younger than Kevin White.

He's 8 months younger than Parker.

 
ILUVBEER99 said:
cstu said:
Cooks is less than 9 months older than Amari Cooper.

He's 15 months younger than Kevin White.

He's 8 months younger than Parker.
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but he's 5'10", 180 lbs. that's very small, limits his upside big time.
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Brandin Cooks

Combine Invite: Yes

Height: 5096

Weight: 189

40 Yrd Dash: 4.33

20 Yrd Dash: 2.53

10 Yrd Dash: 1.54

225 Lb. Bench Reps: 16

Vertical Jump: 36

Broad Jump: 10'00"

20 Yrd Shuttle: 3.81

3-Cone Drill: 6.76
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Antonio Brown

Combine Invite: Yes

Height: 5101

Weight: 186

40 Yrd Dash: 4.57

20 Yrd Dash: 2.64

10 Yrd Dash: 1.58

225 Lb. Bench Reps: 13

Vertical Jump: 33 1/2

Broad Jump: 08'09"

20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.18

3-Cone Drill: 6.98
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Rotoworld:

The New Orleans Times-Picayune says a completely healthy Brandin Cooks "could chalk up No. 1 receiver-type numbers."

The offseason movement has broken nicely for Cooks, as Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham were both traded away and not replaced. Cooks, who was on pace for 85 catches, 997 total yards and more than six touchdowns before going down with a thumb injury last year, will be counted on for even more this year. He's locked in as the No. 1 target and still has tons of room for improvement as he enters his age-22 season.

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune
May 5 - 11:49 AM
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Faust said:
Rotoworld:

The New Orleans Times-Picayune says a completely healthy Brandin Cooks "could chalk up No. 1 receiver-type numbers."

The offseason movement has broken nicely for Cooks, as Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham were both traded away and not replaced. Cooks, who was on pace for 85 catches, 997 total yards and more than six touchdowns before going down with a thumb injury last year, will be counted on for even more this year. He's locked in as the No. 1 target and still has tons of room for improvement as he enters his age-22 season.

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune
May 5 - 11:49 AM
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Yeah that's the TP, always there with the hawt sports take..... a week after it's obvious and reported elsewhere.

 
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Sabertooth said:
Does anyone think his YPC is going to rise? It was abysmal.
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If the OL plays better yes. Cooks was open deep on a few plays last year only to have Brees not pull the trigger because of pressure. Those are long TD's if Brees has time which should change Cooks YPC a bit.

 
Sabertooth said:
Does anyone think his YPC is going to rise? It was abysmal.
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I do, due to the presence of Spiller. Basically Cooks was asked to fill three roles, one of which was Sproles' who had departed. Spiller steps in for that now. Also, towards the end of his season the Saints were finally targeting him deep and I thought he looked effective there.

 
He might see more targets but defenses are going to pay a lot more attention to him. More targets per game isn't a given either with the Saints looking like they want to run the ball more. He's got to get open deep more for me to start to get excited.

 
Milkman said:
He might see more targets but defenses are going to pay a lot more attention to him. More targets per game isn't a given either with the Saints looking like they want to run the ball more. He's got to get open deep more for me to start to get excited.
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He wasn't used much that way his rookie year, but if there's one question I don't have about Cooks, it's his deep ball ability when given the chance.

 
Yeah I hope they fixed their OL issues. That seemed like part of the problem. Brees came close to pulling the trigger on several long throws to Cooks but had to pull it down and take a sack or throw it away because of pressure.

 
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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2509366-whos-the-talk-of-every-nfl-teams-offseason-so-far/page/21

Who's the Talk of Every NFL Team's Offseason so Far? By Kristopher Knox , Featured Columnist Jun 30, 2015New Orleans Saints: Brandin Cooks

The New Orleans Saints traded tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills this offseason, and it's going to fall on second-year wideout

Brandin Cooks to help fill the void in 2015.

The offseason talk seems to indicate that he is more than up to the task.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees recently said the following, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com:

"That guy was ready to go back in February. You had to tell him, 'Hey, slow down, young buck, we've still got some time.' But he's been chomping at the bit. And just watching him out here, I see so much progress, just from a confidence standpoint, his trust and knowledge of the offense now having been in it for a year and just how explosive he is. He's hard to cover."

Earning the trust of his quarterback is one thing. However, Cooks, who has just 10 games of NFL experience, is going to have to become a top target in his second season.

Fortunately, it doesn't appear that the pressure of being a primary pass-catcher is going to get in the way of his development.

"First of all, people may call it pressure, but I don't see it as pressure," Cooks said, via Sam Spiegelman of the Times-Picayune. "It's part of the game."

Cooks should have no trouble becoming one of Brees' top two targets alongside Marques Colston this season.
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http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2015/06/brandin_cooks_embraces_veteran.html

... Cooks just wrapped up his second minicamp as a member of the Saints, an experience he said was light years different than what it was like last June.

More familiar with the playbook and more conscious of what the team expects out of his now, Cooks said the biggest difference between Year 1 and Year 2 is confidence. That confidence, he said, is allowing him to play up to his capabilities.



"I'm a lot more confident now that I know where I'm at and where I want to be and how I fit in with this offense. Now I can focus on that," Cooks said. "I'm expanding on being that playmaker that I am, to be more explosive. Being able to do that consists of me not thinking too much and helps you play faster. That's my biggest goal -- not thinking so much, being smooth and playing the game I've always been playing."
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He's still never going ro be a big TD guy, 6 is probably his sweet spot. I'm thinking 240ish points is his ceiling in PPR.

 
My gut says he's going to disappoint and just end up being low end wr2. He has the opportunity to be much more than that, but I'm not thinking he will.

 
You guys are crazy. This guy is as good or better than OBJ and is in a friendly O. He was just starting to explode when they shelved him. Couple that with Graham leaving and you have well over 100 catches easily available. We'll see I guess.

 
Slider said:
You guys are crazy. This guy is as good or better than OBJ and is in a friendly O. He was just starting to explode when they shelved him. Couple that with Graham leaving and you have well over 100 catches easily available. We'll see I guess.
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Yeah, before getting shelved, he was finally putting up lines like 3/38/0 and 5/50/0.

He had a few good games, and should have a bigger role now, but he was on a whopping 800/5 or so pace, and the idea that he was just "starting to explode" is silly. He wasn't. He was consistently so-so.

i like him to improve, but talk of 115/xxxx/12 is just being out in la-la land.

 
Freelove said:
Slider said:
You guys are crazy. This guy is as good or better than OBJ and is in a friendly O. He was just starting to explode when they shelved him. Couple that with Graham leaving and you have well over 100 catches easily available. We'll see I guess.
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Yeah, before getting shelved, he was finally putting up lines like 3/38/0 and 5/50/0.

He had a few good games, and should have a bigger role now, but he was on a whopping 800/5 or so pace, and the idea that he was just "starting to explode" is silly. He wasn't. He was consistently so-so.

i like him to improve, but talk of 115/xxxx/12 is just being out in la-la land.
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I think the "starting to explode" comment is a little over the top, but your comment was disingenuous, at best. You note two of his final four games with subpar stats, but ignore the other two games that were good-to-great. You also choose to ignore his rushing stats. If you look at ALL 4 of his final games, that would come out to 76 reception, 1124 total yards, & 12 TDs over a full season.

 
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Seriously, joebaggo. He performs a public service.

Just a friendly warning...criticizing Faust for performing that service will yield a torrent of hellfire from the members of the Shark Pool.

 
***** said:
Seriously, joebaggo. He performs a public service.

Just a friendly warning...criticizing Faust for performing that service will yield a torrent of hellfire from the members of the Shark Pool.
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:goodposting: and I have seen plenty of posts where Faust gives his opinion.

 
Bayhawks said:
Freelove said:
Slider said:
You guys are crazy. This guy is as good or better than OBJ and is in a friendly O. He was just starting to explode when they shelved him. Couple that with Graham leaving and you have well over 100 catches easily available. We'll see I guess.
Click to expand...
Yeah, before getting shelved, he was finally putting up lines like 3/38/0 and 5/50/0.

He had a few good games, and should have a bigger role now, but he was on a whopping 800/5 or so pace, and the idea that he was just "starting to explode" is silly. He wasn't. He was consistently so-so.

i like him to improve, but talk of 115/xxxx/12 is just being out in la-la land.
Click to expand...
I think the "starting to explode" comment is a little over the top, but your comment was disingenuous, at best. You note two of his final four games with subpar stats, but ignore the other two games that were good-to-great. You also choose to ignore his rushing stats. If you look at ALL 4 of his final games, that would come out to 76 reception, 1124 total yards, & 12 TDs over a full season.
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Nothing wrong with Cooks' numbers, especially factoring in that he was a rookie. Let's put things into context, guys!

 
Yep 800/5 with all that competition for a rookie is fantastic. That they got rid of all that competition should tell you a lot.

 
Fwiw he looked great at minicamp, skied high to get one grab I saw, took another pass from McCown deep in a 2 minute drills, flew right past Terrence Frederick. I think his ypc is going up this year.

 
Just saw this projection for Brandin Cooks.

============

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2511386-realistic-projections-for-every-nfl-star-returning-from-injury-in-2015/page/13

Realistic Projections for Every NFL Star Returning from Injury in 2015 By Gary Davenport , NFL AnalystBrandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints

Jul 5, 2015

Granted, it may not be fair to call Cooks a star. At least not yet.

But there's been a great deal of speculation that we'll be viewing the second-year pro a lot differently come the end of the 2015 season.

He already showed more than a little promise as a rookie, hauling in 53 passes for 550 yards and three touchdowns over 10 games (and seven starts) before a thumb injury cut his inaugural season short.

Now, thanks to the trades that sent tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills out of town, Cooks appears set to ascend to a role as Drew Brees' top target in the Saints' passing game.

And as Chris Wesseling of NFL.com reports, that role has come with plenty of gravy in the past:

"Payton has shown a knack for taking advantage of "satellite" weapons who require space to make plays. That bodes well for the immediate future of Cooks, who offers rare suddenness and agility in the open field.

Cooks was on pace for 85 receptions and roughly 1,000 yards from scrimmage prior to his season-ending injury in Week 11. Even if the Saints shift to a ball-control approach, a healthy Cooks has a good chance to sail past those numbers in 2015."

Mmmmm. Gravy.

2015 Projection: 88 receptions, 1,087 yards, nine touchdowns, 145 rushing yards, one touchdown
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Milkman said:
10 total TDS seems ambitious.......
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Agreed. I have a feeling NO is in the midst of an identity change. People are bullish on Cooks because NO has been one of the most pass happy teams in the NFL for years. Hard to argue that. Still, I have a feeling they are looking to go another direction this year. More balance, meaning less pass and more run. I'm buying the RBs, Ingram and Spiller. Not so much the WRs.

 
jurb26 said:
Milkman said:
10 total TDS seems ambitious.......
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Agreed. I have a feeling NO is in the midst of an identity change. People are bullish on Cooks because NO has been one of the most pass happy teams in the NFL for years. Hard to argue that. Still, I have a feeling they are looking to go another direction this year. More balance, meaning less pass and more run.I'm buying the RBs, Ingram and Spiller. Not so much the WRs.
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New Orleans ranked #1 in total offense last year, 3rd passing (297 yds per game) and 13th running the ball (113 yds per game).

If you look at the top rushing teams in the NFL you will find that New Orleans really doesn't have a lot of room to improve running the football unless they completely revamp their entire offensive philosophy and start drafting big hogs and draft a big power back and go to a full-scale power run scheme base offense and build up a stout defense.

The top running team last year was Seattle. They lead every team by a wide margin with 172 yds per game but their entire team identity is to play stout defense with a complimentary power running game. Next was Dallas with 147 yds per game rushing but they have a monster offensive line and they also had the NFL's leading rushing last year.

The rest of the league hasn't successfully adopted that philosophy of a stout defense with power rushing attack because most lack a power RB like Marshawn Lynch and/or a defense like Seattle or the massive O-Line that took years to build like Dallas. Its easy to say but its much harder to simply flip from the top three passing game to become a power running team especially since the Saints lack a dominating defense and don't have a RB like Lynch. It just doesn't make sense.

Per Cooks.

Over the first six games the Saints had a role for him to catch short passes in space and use his speed to try for YAC but that didn't work too well. They did target the hell out of him 40 targets over the first six games where he caught 32 passed for 255 yards but not a high average 7.96 yards per reception and only 1 TD. They also used him in the running game with 5 attempts for 64 yards and that was very successful with a 12.8 average per running attempt. So over the first five games this is what his stats looked like.

- 40 targets

- 32 receptions

- 255 yards

- 7.96 yards per catch

- 1 rec TD

- 5 rushing attempts

- 64 rushing yards

- 12.9 yards per rush attempt

- 0 rushing TDs

Over the last five games before he got injured the Saints seemed to go away from the small-ball role with Cooks and unleashed him to let him go deep but didn't target him as much however his average per catch increased.

Over the final five games Brandin Cooks stat line:

- 28 targets

- 21 receptions

- 295 yards

- 14.07 yds per reception

- 2 TDs

- 2 rushing attempts

- 9 rushing yards

- 4.5 yards per rush

- 1 TD

The Saints let Kenny Still (85 targets) go and lost TE Jimmy Graham (124 targets) in free agency. That is over 200 targets that walked out the door. I don't think the RBs will get many of those targets and I don't see Josh Hill getting the bulk of those targets. Marques Colston got 99 targets last year and I don't think he will see an increase since I believe his role will be more at the goal line and short yardage situations to keep the chains moving rather than the go-to guy.

If you think the Saints are going to increase the targets dramatically to their RBs consider how often they targeted them last year. The New Orleans RBs/FBs got a combined 193 targets last year for a combined 947 yards or 4.90 per reception.

If you look at the Saints the logical guy to reap the bulk of those targets is Brandin Cooks. They moved-up in the first round to draft him. He suffered a broken thumb, not a soft tissue injury or something that will be nagging, he is back healthy. They didn't add a single WR or TE in the draft. They lost over 200 targets and last year they had targeted their RBs 193 yards and didn't get a lot of yards for the effort whereas Cooks average per reception went up from nearly 8 yards per reception to over 14 yards per catch over the final five games he played.

Throw out any hype and early reports and just look at the numbers logically. Cooks should increase his targets. Look at his college stats where he went from 31 to 61 to 128 receptions. His yardage numbers went from 391 to 1,151 to 1,730 and his TD numbers went from 3 to 5 to 16.

I agree that it doesn't seem likely that he will see double digit receiving TDs this year but I expect a huge leap in targets and production with a healthy bump in receiving TDs. If anyone is high on him or is projecting monster stats I'd tend to lean more to that take rather than someone who thinks the Saints will go with a power run game or who says the RBs will see an increase on top of the nearly 200 targets that they got last year.

 
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