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WR Brandin Cooks, Free Agent (1 Viewer)

This is an ironic post, because the Rams did exactly what you are praising BOB for here - they went all in to push hard for a Super Bowl, and it almost worked. Now they are paying the price for that. They went for it with the intent of paying for it later, and later has come for them. They had no choice but to reset their roster and lose at least one season of competitiveness as a result... though they do still have some compelling talent on both offense and defense.
But they didn't have to take on all this dead money THIS YEAR. That is my point. They still had the nucleus of a SB team from ONE YEAR ago. They chose to take on all this dead money now and cutting Gurley was the first domino. I'm not criticizing the Rams for going for it all(I applaud them for that) I'm criticizing them for blowing up the entire team too early as they go into a new stadium. Later hadn't come for them yet in my opinion. With Gurley, Matthews, and Cooks and less dead money I think they still had a fighting chance in the NFC West if not the NFC as a whole. SB losing teams(SF) are known to go into a funk and beyond Russell Wilson the SEA roster shouldn't really be scary to anyone. ARZ should be be better this year but it's still ARZ. I just think they punted this SB window at least a full year too early. Yes, Gurley was overpaid. Maybe Cooks was as well(but his production and age is being badly overlooked in this thread). But so were Sammy Watkins and Jerick McKinnon yet both KC and SF were able to go to the SB with overpaid players on their roster.

The only thing I can think is the powers that be in the Rams organization think that 2020 will be something of a lost season due to the pandemic and strategically decided they will take on as much dead money during the lost season as possible. Otherwise it just seems silly to blow this whole thing up this early. Now they are paying Goff and Donald huge contracts and are wasting those players by taking such a big step backwards on both sides of the ball. 

 
But they didn't have to take on all this dead money THIS YEAR. That is my point. They still had the nucleus of a SB team from ONE YEAR ago. They chose to take on all this dead money now and cutting Gurley was the first domino. I'm not criticizing the Rams for going for it all(I applaud them for that) I'm criticizing them for blowing up the entire team too early as they go into a new stadium. Later hadn't come for them yet in my opinion. With Gurley, Matthews, and Cooks and less dead money I think they still had a fighting chance in the NFC West if not the NFC as a whole. SB losing teams(SF) are known to go into a funk and beyond Russell Wilson the SEA roster shouldn't really be scary to anyone. ARZ should be be better this year but it's still ARZ. I just think they punted this SB window at least a full year too early. Yes, Gurley was overpaid. Maybe Cooks was as well(but his production and age is being badly overlooked in this thread). But so were Sammy Watkins and Jerick McKinnon yet both KC and SF were able to go to the SB with overpaid players on their roster.

The only thing I can think is the powers that be in the Rams organization think that 2020 will be something of a lost season due to the pandemic and strategically decided they will take on as much dead money during the lost season as possible. Otherwise it just seems silly to blow this whole thing up this early. Now they are paying Goff and Donald huge contracts and are wasting those players by taking such a big step backwards on both sides of the ball. 
You will find no bigger fan of Gurley then I, I am also a Cooks fan. But where I disagree with your post is in the bolded.  The loss of either does not fundamentally force them a step back.  The Gurley situation is complex and likely needs to be explored deeper in the Gurley thread and not here but bottom line is the deal with the knee made is situation untenable. And unfortunately it would not have been any better this coming yr.   With Cooks, as I said upstream the drop off to Reynolds doesn’t not dramatically change the O.  He’s more then capable of filling the role Cooks would have played.  
The Rams problems come down to 2 things. McVay’s inability to adjust (ie his ego) and the OLine play.  The former looks like it started to happen late last year, the latter is still a massive question mark.  Gurley or Cooks don’t change either issue.  

 
You will find no bigger fan of Gurley then I, I am also a Cooks fan. But where I disagree with your post is in the bolded.  The loss of either does not fundamentally force them a step back.  The Gurley situation is complex and likely needs to be explored deeper in the Gurley thread and not here but bottom line is the deal with the knee made is situation untenable. And unfortunately it would not have been any better this coming yr.   With Cooks, as I said upstream the drop off to Reynolds doesn’t not dramatically change the O.  He’s more then capable of filling the role Cooks would have played.  
The Rams problems come down to 2 things. McVay’s inability to adjust (ie his ego) and the OLine play.  The former looks like it started to happen late last year, the latter is still a massive question mark.  Gurley or Cooks don’t change either issue.  
Yeah, the more I think about this, the more I like the Cook trade for the Rams. With Reynolds as the #4 WR and with Higbee's emergence, I doubt the loss of Cooks will impact the Rams offense at all, unless their remaining top 5 WRs/TEs (Woods, Kupp, Reynolds, Higbee, Everett) miss major time due to injury. And they added the #57 pick, which is valuable.

I will say, however, whoever signed off on the contract extensions for Gurley and Cooks should be fired. They were both terrible contracts for the team.

 
Even being passed around from team to team, Cooks ranks 7th in receiving yards through a player's age 26 season. The list is pretty interesting . . . especially with the games played element added in.

01 - Randy Moss - 8375 (96 games)
02 - DeAndre Hopkins - 7437 (95)
03 - Mike Evans - 7262 (90)
04 - Larry Fitzgerald - 7067 (92)
05 - Julio Jones - 6201 (65)
06 - Calvin Johnson - 5872 (76)
07 - Brandin Cooks - 5730 (88)
08 - Lance Alworth - 5651 (57)
09 - Michael Thomas - 5512 (63)
10 - Odell Beckham - 5476 (59)
25 - Jerry Rice - 4881 (60)

 
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You will find no bigger fan of Gurley then I, I am also a Cooks fan. But where I disagree with your post is in the bolded.  The loss of either does not fundamentally force them a step back.  The Gurley situation is complex and likely needs to be explored deeper in the Gurley thread and not here but bottom line is the deal with the knee made is situation untenable. And unfortunately it would not have been any better this coming yr.   With Cooks, as I said upstream the drop off to Reynolds doesn’t not dramatically change the O.  He’s more then capable of filling the role Cooks would have played.  
The Rams problems come down to 2 things. McVay’s inability to adjust (ie his ego) and the OLine play.  The former looks like it started to happen late last year, the latter is still a massive question mark.  Gurley or Cooks don’t change either issue.  
I agree with you that the biggest problem with the team was OL play, but taking on huge amounts of dead money from Gurley/Cooks contracts not only ensure that you can't improve the OL play via FA but now they have created so many holes all across the team just for the privilege of dumping Gurley/Cooks that now you may not be able to address OL in the draft as well. 

We disagree on McVay in that I think the entire offense is predicated on the run game. Once the run game wasn't working it's tough to switch to a 4wr offense on the fly. Why more teams don't use more 2 TE sets have baffled me since Gronk/Hernandez were dominant several years ago but for whatever reason most teams don't utilize that attack. I just think McVay was shocked at how poorly the Rams were running the ball and say what you want about Gurley, as the team stands today it's going to run the ball even worse this season.

I like Reynolds, have since he was drafted. But I have seen the production of Cooks and Reyndolds has a long way to go to prove he'll just step in and replace Cooks imo. What you once had in the Rams offense of a pounding running game, intermediate receivers that always seemed open on play action, and a very dangerous weapon in Cooks deep now seems like...... a bunch of receivers running intermediate routes. They look easier to defend than they have in quite some time.

I'm not saying Gurley was great, and certainly not worth the money he was scheduled to be paid. I'm saying they ended up paying more money to have him off the team and now they have another position they need to replace because I don't think that offense can just go through Brown/Henderson so they will have to invest one of their precious few draft picks in another RB instead of helping to fix the OL that was the single biggest root of all their problems last season. 

It's the loss of Gurley, Cooks, ALL THEIR DEAD MONEY, the defensive downgrade based on having less FA money, and the draft picks that will ultimately be used to replace those players instead of going to OL that fundamentally makes them take a step back imo. 

 
Yeah, the more I think about this, the more I like the Cook trade for the Rams. With Reynolds as the #4 WR and with Higbee's emergence, I doubt the loss of Cooks will impact the Rams offense at all, unless their remaining top 5 WRs/TEs (Woods, Kupp, Reynolds, Higbee, Everett) miss major time due to injury. And they added the #57 pick, which is valuable.
I would certainly hope the #57 pick is valuable. It's going to need to replace their leading tackler at LB, 11.5 sacks from Fowler, 8 sacks from Clay Matthews, their leading rusher(by a mile.... with the same y/c as anyone else in that offense), and a WR that had nearly 1800yards the past two seasons. That will need to be a valuable #57 pick indeed.

 
I would certainly hope the #57 pick is valuable. It's going to need to replace their leading tackler at LB, 11.5 sacks from Fowler, 8 sacks from Clay Matthews, their leading rusher(by a mile.... with the same y/c as anyone else in that offense), and a WR that had nearly 1800yards the past two seasons. That will need to be a valuable #57 pick indeed.
Part of the point of the post you responded to is that aren't likely to miss the "WR that had nearly 1800 yards the past two seasons." But I see you missed or ignored that.

 
Part of the point of the post you responded to is that aren't likely to miss the "WR that had nearly 1800 yards the past two seasons." But I see you missed or ignored that.
As Anarchy99 has pointed out, through his age 26 season Cooks production in terms of yards slots in right between HOF Calvin Johnson and HOF Lance Alworth.

If you're saying that Josh Reynolds just seamlessly erases that void and now the Rams ONLY have to replace the 19.5 sacks and their leading tackler (shrug) ok. I mean they have day 3 picks in the draft to replace those guys too I guess.

 
As Anarchy99 has pointed out, through his age 26 season Cooks production in terms of yards slots in right between HOF Calvin Johnson and HOF Lance Alworth.

If you're saying that Josh Reynolds just seamlessly erases that void and now the Rams ONLY have to replace the 19.5 sacks and their leading tackler (shrug) ok. I mean they have day 3 picks in the draft to replace those guys too I guess.
Who cares what his production through age 26 has been? Last season, Cooks had 42/583/2 receiving in 14 games. You really think that kind of production is not replaceable by the rest of the Rams' targets? If so, we can just agree to disagree about that.

 
I would certainly hope the #57 pick is valuable. It's going to need to replace their leading tackler at LB, 11.5 sacks from Fowler, 8 sacks from Clay Matthews, their leading rusher(by a mile.... with the same y/c as anyone else in that offense), and a WR that had nearly 1800yards the past two seasons. That will need to be a valuable #57 pick indeed.
Other than Littleton, I really think all those guys are pretty easily replaceable. Fowler is just a decent Edge rusher, and Matthews is a liability at this point.I don't think its out of the question they get more out of Leonard Floyd than the Bears did, especially with Donald next to him.

Cooks is a solid WR(when healthy) but he wasn't a big part of that offense last year, especially once Higbee took off. As for his yardage through age 26, its a neat stat, but not really an accurate representation of how good Cooks is. How many WR's(in this this era) were blessed to have the first 4 years of their career to be in 2 pass heavy offenses, with HOF QB's, and top play callers? If anything that stat mostly illustrates how young Cooks was as a rookie. 

Gurley is no big loss.

The Rams have made themselves a rough bed with the salary cap, but this is still a playoff contending team.

 
Speaking Thursday, Texans coach Bill O'Brien insisted he was not worried about Brandin Cooks' concussion history. 

"Yes, he's had concussions, but he's only missed two games since 2015," O'Brien said, understating the issue, especially since one of Cooks' five documented concussions occurred in the Super Bowl. "All that was taken into account when we worked with Sean McVay on the trade." Cooks has passed a physical since his acquisition from the Rams, but it was not conducted by the Texans' team doctors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cooks did not seem to be quite the same player in 2019, but that was true of the Rams' entire offense. Despite his injury history, there is no reason the 26-year-old can't bounce back in 2020. 

SOURCE: ESPN

Apr 16, 2020, 4:15 PM ET

 
It seems the fantasy community is severely down on him.  Fantasy pros has him as WR38.  

Are we convinced he's done because of the concussions?  He's only 26 and has had success everywhere he's been.  Though, Brees and Brady aren't exactly chopped liver.  

Still, going from Goff to Watson seems like an upgrade.  He goes from a 3 headed monster with Woods and Kupp--both of whom Goff seemed to prefer over him to a much less competitive field.  Fuller can't stay healthy.  His career high in targets was 129 in 2015.  If his health is ok, he could surpass that.  If he's seriously the 37th/38th WR off the board, I'm a buyer this season.

 
Brandin Cooks said he has "zero" concern about his concussion history.

Cooks has five known concussions, with three coming the past two seasons. He's only missed two games since 2015 despite that, and the Texans don't have plans to restrict his snaps. Cooks could have a harder time getting cleared if he suffers another concussion — putting him at risk for a multi-week absence — but he's going to open the year in a near every-down role. Cooks should top last year's 42/583/2 line if he plays all 16 games.

SOURCE: ESPN

Aug 7, 2020, 6:49 PM ET

 
Texans WR Brandin Cooks, after having his reps "carefully managed" throughout August, could be eased into the team's offensive game plan early in the season. 

The Athletic's Aaron Reiss raised the possibility of a slow start for Cooks, who didn't have anywhere close to the typical number of reps with QB Deshaun Watson during training camp. Cooks has struggled with concussions but said in August that he has "zero" concern about his brain injuries. Reiss said Watson and Cooks "met on their own during the offseason, but will those meetings and limited camp reps allow them to be productive right away?" Cooks is being drafted in the seventh round of 12-team leagues, over receivers like Jarvis Landry and Marvin Jones. 

SOURCE: The Athletic 

Sep 1, 2020, 10:00 AM ET

 
It seems the fantasy community is severely down on him.  Fantasy pros has him as WR38.  

Are we convinced he's done because of the concussions?  He's only 26 and has had success everywhere he's been.  Though, Brees and Brady aren't exactly chopped liver.  

Still, going from Goff to Watson seems like an upgrade.  He goes from a 3 headed monster with Woods and Kupp--both of whom Goff seemed to prefer over him to a much less competitive field.  Fuller can't stay healthy.  His career high in targets was 129 in 2015.  If his health is ok, he could surpass that.  If he's seriously the 37th/38th WR off the board, I'm a buyer this season.
I'm with you, hoss. I think Cooks has a chance to rebound solidly this year. He's boom or bust and no getting around the concussion danger, but the guy has put up borderline WR1 numbers before and has the opportunity to do so again in sharing Hopkins' vacated targets with Fuller, and facing generally middling to poor secondaries in the division.

Great risk/reward player, and if he can protect himself, I think he can once again be a 1K/7 TD season WR, which would put him Top 25-30. 

 
Brandin Cooks (quad) was limited in Monday's practice.

The Texans managed Cooks' reps this summer with an injury, and we now know what was ailing him. Cooks should be ready to roll for Thursday's opener in Kansas City, but he could see his snaps dialed back some, especially with the depth the Texans have at receiver with Kenny Stills an elite No. 4 wideout.

Sep 7, 2020, 9:08 PM ET

 
it's all a ruse lemme get this straight..Cooks,  their best WR, the guy who 'takes the top off of defenses' is hurt the week of the first game of the season?! a home opener for KC?

there's a scene in Animal House , during the trial, when they all cough and say all kinds of expletives,   ya know, this is a family site so I can't repeat it here.LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROxvT8KKdFw

'Cooks is hurt' is total nonsense. he's going to feast this season.

he has  finished WR top 12 in 3 of the 4 seasons prior to 2019. he's going to rock!!

 
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it's all a ruse lemme get this straight..Cooks,  their best WR, the guy who 'takes the top off of defenses' is hurt the week of the first game of the season?! a home opener for KC?

there's a scene in Animal House , during the trial, when they all cough and say all kinds of expletives,   ya know, this is a family site so I can't repeat it here.LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROxvT8KKdFw

'Cooks is hurt' is total nonsense. he's going to feast this season.

he has  finished WR top 12 in 3 of the 4 seasons prior to 2019. he's going to rock!!
I hope you are right. He's got an injury history esp. around concussions and starting the season purportedly limited in snaps isn't a great start.

He has the talent to feast, but there are a lot of things that can turn south quickly.

 
Texans' Brandin Cooks: Not spotted at practice

(20 mins ago) Cooks (quadriceps) wasn't present during the part of Tuesday's practice open to the media, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Without the benefit of a preseason, Cooks' quad issue wasn't revealed until the Texans were required to post their first injury report of Week 1 on Monday. Apparently, he's been dealing with the concern since training camp, and his reps have been capped as a result. Tuesday's report will reveal whether Cooks was able to get on the practice field at all just two days before the season opener at Kansas City.

 
Brandin Cooks (quad) did not practice Tuesday.

This is a downgrade after being limited in Monday's practice. It's a concern with the Texans kicking off in two days. Wednesday's injury report is crucial for Cooks, as another "DNP" would put him on the wrong side of questionable against the Chiefs. Kenny Stills would see extra snaps if Cooks is unable to suit up, while Will Fuller should be considered a top-25 receiver regardless.
It could be a rest day, but even if he practices tomorrow no way you start him Thursday Night.

 
In again this season. (Once i saw where he was in the default yahoo rankings, I figured I'd end up with him) The guy has shown the ability to adjust quickly to a new offense and this just seems like the perfect storm. Hopkins gone....Fuller a pulled hamstring waiting to happen. 

Just drafted him at 7.5 as my WR3 and feeling really good about it. Obviously the concussions are an issue, but if he stays healthy, I think he could be a top 15-20 guy for sure.  TD's have obviously not been his strong suit, but the targets and yardage are going to be there.

 
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Cobb isn't exactly a picture of health himself. Never thought I'd see the day Randall Cobb was considered his team's most durable WR.
Amazing, isn’t it? And yet in a WR room with Cooks, Fuller, and Coutee—and a mid-round small school rookie starting his career on IR in Coulter—he seems to be just that. 
 

I think he’ll be a solid PPR option for bye week purposes, but if his healthy weeks line up with unhealthy weeks for multiple of the rest, which seems like a real possibility—he could be a surprise with Watson slinging it. You know, if HE stays healthy.

 
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Brandin Cooks (quad) is questionable for Thursday night's Week 1 opener against the Chiefs.

After not practicing Tuesday, Cooks got in another limited practice Wednesday, putting him on the right side of the Q tag for Thursday night. We likely won't know for sure until inactives are released beforehand, however, so Cooks' fantasy managers need to be on the lookout ahead of kickoff. Kenny Stills would be the main beneficiary if Cooks is forced to sit.

Sep 9, 2020, 2:50 PM ET

 
Ugh.  I can already see myself trying to decide whether to pick up and start Kenny Stills or Randall Cobb at about 6:30 tomorrow night.

 
Sucks, and can see him sitting to ensure he's ready for the longer season ahead, but seeing limited practice after not practicing Tues is at least the right trend we want to see.

 
Texans beat writer Aaron Reiss said WR Brandin Cooks (quad) would be limited if he suits up against Kansas City on Thursday. 

Reiss said on Twitter that Cooks "was in & out of camp (barely participated in 11v11) because the Texans were managing the same quad injury that has him on the injury report." Reiss expects the speedy wideout to have limited availability if he manages to play against the Chiefs. There's no compelling reason to force Cooks into your Week 1 lineup with the chance he'll post an ugly zero even if he's active. Reiss said Kenny Stills would benefit "the most" if Cooks is out or limited. 

RELATED: 

Kenny Stills

SOURCE: Aaron Reiss on Twitter 

Sep 10, 2020, 11:32 AM ET

 
Brandin Cooks (quad) is active for Week 1 against the Chiefs. 

There have been reports that Cooks could be on a snap count after his reps were "carefully managed" during training camp. That, coupled with his quad ailment makes a pitch count a safe bet. Cooks is a viable bounce-back candidate making the switch from Jared Goff to Deshaun Watson in a skill corps that is slightly less crowded than the one in Los Angeles, but he is already off to a rough start. Even in a likely shootout, Cooks is a zero-floor WR4 for Week 1. 

SOURCE: Ian Rapoport on Twitter 

Sep 10, 2020, 6:46 PM ET

 
I honestly don’t understand “managing” a quad injury during training camp. Shut the dude down until he’s 100% healthy and then go full strength. 

Either the Saints know what they’re doing, they’re lying about his actual status and Cooks is actually 100%, or they have an incompetent training staff that is botching this thing IMO.

 
I honestly don’t understand “managing” a quad injury during training camp. Shut the dude down until he’s 100% healthy and then go full strength. 

Either the Saints know what they’re doing, they’re lying about his actual status and Cooks is actually 100%, or they have an incompetent training staff that is botching this thing IMO.
Yeah, he’s bounced around a bit. Hard to keep track :)  

 
I honestly don’t understand “managing” a quad injury during training camp. Shut the dude down until he’s 100% healthy and then go full strength. 

Either the Saints know what they’re doing, they’re lying about his actual status and Cooks is actually 100%, or they have an incompetent training staff that is botching this thing IMO.
It does seem like something BOB would do, thinking he's the smartest guy in the room. 

I'm still staying away tonight, which sucks given the matchup. In one league I had Cooks and Cobb ready, but with the question mark I don't feel good about either. I'm starting Steven Sims or Anthony Miller instead.

 
I decided to sit him and go with Emmanuel Sanders on Sunday instead. 
I'm in a start 3 WR league and my only other option is PIttman Jr. unless I pick grab someone off waivers.

Also degen in me wants to put him in just to make things interesting tonight lol. Might force my hand.

 
Brandin Cooks missed two games last season after playing four consecutive seasons without missing a game. He is active for this game.

I suppose a quad injury could be serious. The Texans need all hands on deck to win this game.

 
Well, considering there was a lot of chatter that he may not play, I thought Cooks was pretty clearly the #2 WR, until they rested him in the 4th. Hopefully he'll get healthier and more acclimated with Watson, because there is certainly room for someone besides Fuller to be a fantasy WR3 or better.

 
Cooks is best over the top....woulda been nice to have Nuk drawing coverage underneath so cooks/fuller/Stills could stretch the field more effectively

 
Brandin Cooks caught 2-of-5 targets for 20 yards in the Texans' Week 1 loss to the Chiefs.

He caught both of his passes in the first half and was targeted just once after the break, failing to do anything in garbage time. Acquired from the Rams in the offseason in a salary dump, Cooks has battled a quad issue much of the summer. He'll be a WR4 next week in a tough draw with Marcus Peters and the Ravens.

- Rotoworld

 
Brandin Cooks (quad) was limited in Wednesday's practice.

Cooks will have 10 days to get ready for Week 2 after playing through his quad issue last Thursday night in K.C. when he posted a meager 2-20-0 line on five targets in the blowout loss. Things will be even more difficult at less than 100% against the Ravens' elite defense in Week 2.

SOURCE: Sarah Barshop on Twitter

Sep 16, 2020, 4:15 PM ET

 
Brandin Cooks (quad) remained "limited" in Thursday's practice. 

Cooks is someone we are going to need to get in a full practice before we can start talking about him as a viable WR3. For Week 2, he's a zero/floor WR4/5 vs. the Ravens' elite defense. 

Sep 17, 2020, 5:10 PM ET

 

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