articles & vids on the Cooks trade plus Cooks highlights etc.

Rams Trade for Brandin Cooks (in Case You Didn’t Really Believe They Were All-In)

ANDY BENOIT

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/03/rams-patriots-brandin-cooks-trade-first-round-pick-draft?utm_campaign=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

As the Rams brass explained to our Peter King, they have three more years with Jared Goff on an affordable rookie contract, and so this is their window to spend big at other positions and go all-in for a Super Bowl run. Brandin Cooks, acquired along with a fourth-round pick for L.A.’s first-rounder (23rd overall) and a sixth-round pick, is a huge piece of this plan.

Though the Rams led the league in scoring last year and finished 11-5, a persistent problem they had was defenses not feeling compelled to double-team Sammy Watkins, who often aligned on the weak side. Instead of helping on Watkins, the safety to that side would help inside against L.A.’s downfield crossing routes (usually run by Cooper Kupp). That help won’t be available now because Cooks has north/sound speed that demands a safety stay over the top. He also has the quickness to hurt you on east/west routes, which will allow him to be productive from any spot in the formation (Watkins didn’t necessarily offer this dimension). Our Albert Breer says Rams head coach Sean McVay has long been fond of Cooks and explored trading for him last year, before the Saints traded Cooks to New England.

The downside for L.A. is that Cooks’ rookie contract expires after this season. Retaining him will cost either $16 million-plus on a franchise tag in 2019, or much more than that on a multiyear deal. There’s a good chance they’ll find the cap space, but still: Over the next four years, the Rams will pay Cooks significantly more than they would have paid to whomever they drafted at No. 23.

The Patriots are accustomed to trading great players, and the Rams are quickly becoming accustomed to acquiring them. This move fits the profile of both teams, and it’s likely we’ll still be talking about them come mid-January.

BRANDIN COOKS
OREGON ST.

4.33 SEC
16 REPS
36.0 INCH
120.0 INCH
6.76 SEC
3.81 SEC
10.72 SEC

DRAFT ANALYSIS:

“At 190 pounds, he was able to make a lot of people miss (while playing for Oregon State). At the NFL Scouting Combine, he ran a 4.33 40-yard dash (the second-fastest among all performers). This is a guy who catches the ball easily.” — Mike Mayock

OVERVIEW

Competed in the Junior Olympics as a sprinter and also played basketball as a California prep. Played all 38 games of his career. Started three games at flanker as an injury replacement for James Rodgers in 2011, with 31 receptions for 391 yards (12.6-yard average) and three touchdowns. Added eight kickoff returns for 179 yards (22.4). In 2012, started all 13 games at flanker opposite Steelers 2013 third-rounder Markus Wheaton and produced 67 catches for 1,151 yards (17.2) and five TDs. Hurt his ankle against Oregon and missed most of the Nicholls State contest. Won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver in 2013, when he established Pac-12 single-season records with 128 receptions and 1,730 receiving yards, which led the FBS, in 13 starts at flanker; he also had 16 receiving touchdowns. Returned 12 punts for 72 yards (6.0). Also had 61 career rushes for 340 yards (5.6) and two touchdowns. Owns Oregon State record for career touchdown catches (24). Team captain.

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS Light on his feet with terrific balance. Sinks his hips with ease and pops out of breaks to separate. Tracks and adjusts. Quick hands. Good concentration, body control and boundary awareness. Can turn a short throw into a long gain. Shows elusiveness, creativity and vision after the catch. Unafraid to play in the tall trees. Highly productive — totaled 195 receptions for 2,881 yards (15.4-yard average) and 21 TDs in last two seasons. Confident and competitive. Has been exceptionally durable dating back to high school. Team captain. Will be a 21-year-old rookie.

WEAKNESSES Size is just adequate — is small-framed and lacks ideal length and bulk. Vulnerable to the jam and reroute. Relatively small catch radius. Has small hands and double-catches some throws. Lacks elite, blazing speed to run by NFL corners and safeties. Will struggle to play “above the rim” at the next level. Was not an impactful punt returner. Limited run strength. Poor blocker.
DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 1-2 (top 50)

BOTTOM LINE Short, speedy, nifty-footed receiver who was unaffected by the departure of Steelers 2013 third-rounder Markus Wheaton, establishing himself as a playmaker in his own right by leading the nation with 133 yards per contest as a junior. Projects as a useful slot receiver with run-after-catch ability and some utility as an outside receiver.

Nolan Nawrocki
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/brandin-cooks?id=2543498

http://www.espn.com/boston/

Matt Bowen
ESPN Staff Writer

WR Brandin Cooks is a smart fit for the Rams in Sean McVay’s offensive system. Playing in the same role held by Sammy Watkins last season, Cooks has the vertical speed to occupy the safety over the top, and the ability to finish on deep shots/play-action concepts. Plus, Cooks can separate underneath on inside breaking routes. Think of shallow crossers or the intermediate dig routes (square-in) where Cooks can create after the catch.

Barnwell’s NFL free-agency and trade grades: Every big 2018 move

Bill Barnwell

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22680603/2018-nfl-free-agency-grades-big-trades-signings-moves-offseason-bill-barnwell

Trade: Patriots deal WR Brandin Cooks to Rams

Patriots: B+
Rams: C+

When the Patriots traded for Brandin Cooks last offseason, the one confusing thing about the deal was how they would handle Cooks’ impending free agency after the 2018 season. New England was getting the star receiver at the bargain price of about $9.2 million over two seasons, but it remained to be seen whether the same Patriots who didn’t appear to have the cap room to re-sign Malcolm Butler or Jimmy Garoppolo were going to come up with the space to lock in Cooks to a multi-year contract.

As it turns out, they’re not planning on doing so. After less than 13 months with the team, Cooks has been moved out West to the Rams, who sent the 23rd overall pick and one of their five sixth-round selections in exchange for the 24-year-old Cooks and a fourth-rounder. I don’t think Bill Belichick necessarily acquired Cooks with the idea that he would trade the receiver a year later, but in a market where players like Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins are making $16 million per season, the Patriots might have blanched at the idea of paying Cooks an even larger annual salary.

It sure did turn out to be a nifty piece of business, though. If we assume that the sixth-rounder is L.A.’s initial pick (No. 198), the Patriots picked up what amounts to the 33rd pick of the draft according to the Chase Stuart chart as part of this deal. The trade they made with the Saints last year sent the equivalent of the 29th pick in draft capital to New Orleans for Cooks. The difference between those two picks is somewhere around the 199th selection, a fateful number for Patriots fans. Belichick basically rented Cooks for a year, paid him less than $1.6 million during a season when his top two wideouts — Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan — were healthy for a combined total of eight games, and spent a late sixth-round pick in the process. He’s good at this.

For the Rams, Cooks is their Watkins replacement. Cooks won’t be the same sort of red-zone threat the 6-foot-1 Watkins was in Los Angeles, but Cooks is a similarly imposing downfield threat and offers a far higher floor by virtue of his health. While the 24-year-old did leave the Super Bowl after suffering a concussion, Cooks hasn’t missed a game since his rookie year. Watkins hasn’t played a full 16-game slate since his own rookie season and has multiple foot surgeries in his past. Committing to Cooks on a long-term deal is far more comforting than locking Watkins down for multiple seasons.

The problem is that the Rams have now used their top two picks in this draft on wideouts, given that the first-rounder is going to New England and their second-round pick was shipped off to Buffalo in the Watkins deal. They’ve traded a first-round pick for one year of Cooks at $8.5 million and the right to franchise him in 2019 or pay him a market value deal. (Franchising him would also take the tag off the table for Aaron Donald, increasing Donald’s leverage.) Nobody can question the star power the Rams currently possess, but this is a team with little depth at a number of key positions and major question marks at positions like tight end and edge rusher. Those draft picks could have helped.

For all the arguments about building a team around Jared Goff while their star quarterback is still cheap, the Rams are built around players who are about to get massive contracts instead of veterans on relatively reasonable deals, which is the case in Philadelphia. Cooks can realistically look for $17 million per year. Donald is about to own Arsenal. Todd Gurley and Marcus Peters are next. Teams who operate this way, even with a potentially dominant core, seem to come up short more often than not. The Tony Romo-era Cowboys are an example of how difficult it is to get a team built around seven to eight superstars and have them be healthy and productive at the same time.

While Cooks was productive with the Patriots and was the primary wideout for a quarterback who won league MVP, he wasn’t necessarily the best fit during his season in New England. The Patriots threw the ball downfield more frequently in 2017, seemingly owing to the presence of Cooks; 21.9 percent of Tom Brady’s passes traveled 15 yards or more in the air last year, which was the highest rate of his career and the ninth-highest rate in football. Brady posted a league-best passer rating of 103.4 on throws within 14 yards of the line of scrimmage, but on those passes traveling 15 or more yards in the air, his 96.8 rating was only good for 11th. Cooks might have helped open up some of those underneath routes, but the Patriots probably don’t want to throw the ball downfield as much as they did in 2017.

What’s fascinating now, of course, is what the Patriots are suddenly positioned to do. New England now has two first-rounders (Nos. 23 and 31) and two second-rounders (Nos. 43 and 63) to play with in this year’s draft, which is an awful lot of draft capital for Belichick to work with. Belichick has made a career out of trading down and taking advantage of other GM’s overconfidence on draft day, but I think it’s unlikely that the Pats are going to turn these four picks into seven or eight selections.

The Patriots have occasionally traded up on draft day, with Rob Gronkowski serving as an example of one such player. If Belichick sees a quarterback he thinks could serve as the long-term replacement for Tom Brady, would he package some or all of those picks to move up and grab somebody? The Patriots couldn’t afford to hold onto Garoppolo given that the now-49ers starter was going to be a free agent after the 2017 season, but whichever quarterback they draft would be making what amounts to a backup passer’s salary and have plenty of time to develop behind Brady.

By the traditional Jimmy Johnson chart, picks 23, 31 and 43 would be enough to push the Pats past the Broncos and into the fourth overall pick. It would be strange to see the Pats trade up for what would possibly be the fourth quarterback of this year’s draft, but they also don’t appear to have the resources to move up to the second overall pick unless they deal away their 2019 first-rounder or another player off of their roster. Could Trey Flowers, himself a free agent after this season, be enough to convince the Giants to move down from the second pick for that package?

The other tantalizing possibility involves a player on the Giants’ roster. General manager Dave Gettleman has reportedly been looking for two first-round picks from teams looking to acquire star wideout Odell Beckham Jr., and the Patriots suddenly have two first-round picks in this year’s draft to work with. Beckham is under contract for one more year at $8.5 million, and while Cooks wasn’t necessarily a great fit for the Patriots offense, Beckham’s ability to accelerate after the catch and turn routine slants and crossing routes into touchdowns would make him a terrifying matchup with Brady in the fold.

Would the Pats pay a wide receiver as much as Beckham is likely to want from a team in free agency? Probably not. New England’s mostly shopped in the bargain bin with wide receivers and gotten excellent production from players like Edelman and Wes Welker for a fraction of their actual value. (Welker did get one franchise tag after his initial five-year deal expired.) From outside the organization, they’ve targeted restricted free agents like Welker, Hogan and Emmanuel Sanders, and made modest short-term commitments to Brandon LaFell and Brandon Lloyd. They’ve let players like Deion Branch, David Givens and now Cooks leave in lieu of paying them market-value deals, picking up first-rounders for Branch and Cooks in the process.

The one notable exception, of course, is Randy Moss. The Patriots traded for Moss on the cheap, sending a fourth-rounder to the Raiders while convincing Moss to sign a one-year, $2.5 million deal to play with Brady. Moss promptly delivered one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in league history.

After the year, the Pats signed Moss to a three-year, $27 million deal with $15 million in guarantees. That was in a league where the salary cap was at $116 million — under the current cap, that deal would look more like a three-year, $41 million pact. Moss unquestionably took less money than he could have found on the free market to stay with the Patriots, and Beckham would surely be looking to top the $17 million per year Antonio Brown got on his most recent extension, but it’s not impossible to imagine a world in which Belichick pays a premium for a truly transcendent wide receiver.

More than anything, what this deal affords the Pats is flexibility to fill one or more holes on their roster. They have a major need at offensive tackle after losing Nate Solder, and could use pieces along the defensive line and at cornerback. Another wide receiver wouldn’t hurt, either. Belichick has the assets to move up, down and around the board to target the guys he wants, and he has a track record of winning those trades more often than not. Belichick’s trade history isn’t enough alone to call this one a win for the Patriots, but given that he managed to rent a star wide receiver for a year at the cost of a sixth-round pick when other teams are paying premiums to bring in backups, it’s pretty clear that the greatest coach in league history is on another level altogether.

from: http://amp.si.com/2018/04/04/brandin-cooks-trade-rams-patriots-mmqb-peter-king?__twitter_impression=true

PETER KING

What it Means for the Rams

Cooks is not a consolation prize for losing out on Odell Beckham Jr. That is clear. Last year, months before the Rams traded for Sammy Watkins in August, they tried to trade with New Orleans for Cooks before the Saints sent him to New England. “At that time, we didn’t have a first-round pick and New England did, and that made all the difference,” Snead said. “We discussed [cornerback] Trumaine Johnson with New Orleans, but we could not trump New England’s one.” Beckham would cost two firsts and, if the Rams were able to sign him, about $20 million a year. Cooks, I’m guessing, will be around $17 million a year (if they can sign him beyond this year) and the Rams saved a first-rounder and dropped down 113 picks (from their one to the Patriots’ four) with the other. So in money and draft compensation, LA saved. It means very little, though, if they can’t sign Cooks. I’m assuming that has a good chance of getting done, seeing that Cooks is a Californian (Stockton) and has the same agent as Jared Goff—the Rams quarterback will likely become a big Cooks fan, soon.

McVay is so enthused because he’s wanted a reliable outside speed receiver since he got to Los Angeles. Sammy Watkins, who left for Kansas City in free agency, was fast but not altogether reliable. Now McVay can deploy Cooks and Robert Woods on the outside and Cooper Kupp in the slot, with prospect Josh Reynolds a promising fourth receiver and Tavon Austin a gadget guy if he stays.

The Rams have now acquired four Pro Bowl-caliber players in the past month—Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Cooks, and now will not pick till late on the second day of the draft, the 87th overall choice. “I can’t honestly say we can’t do much more now,” Snead said. They likely won’t sign even bargain unrestricted free agents now, because they want to capitalize on compensatory picks in 2019.

The biggest looming issue for the Rams: Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Cooks are both looming 2019 free agents. If they both get to the market, the Rams can only tag one. That’s likely to be Donald, the best defensive lineman in football. So the race will be on to get one or both signed long-term and, if necessary, put a franchise or transition tag on the other to keep him for 2019.

“One of our main priorities now is to make Aaron Donald a Ram for a long time,” Snead said.

Schein: Cooks Trade A Home Run for the Rams

CBS Sports’ Adam Schein discusses the New England Patriots trade details with the Los Angeles Rams concerning Brandon Cooks. He loves the trade for the Rams.

Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah: How does the Rams’ Depth Chart Look after the Cooks Trade?

How does the Rams’ depth chart look after the Brandin Cooks trade? Brooks and Jeremiah break down the Rams depth chart on offense and defense.

Cooks Eager to Work with New Teammates in L.A.

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Cooks-Eager-to-Work-with-New-Teammates-in-LA/d6903dd6-35be-45e8-a487-286a700b0562

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks isn’t a stranger to trades. After three years in New Orleans, the Saints traded him to the Patriots in exchange for a first- and fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Just over a year later, Cooks is on the move from the East to West Coast — again in exchange for a first-round pick.

“People have asked me, are you upset? Absolutely not,” Cooks said last week. “I’m able to play this game that millions would love to be in my shoes. And the fact [that it’s for] another first rounder? My family, they joke about it like, ‘You’ve been drafted in the first round three times, has anyone done that?’ So we try to take the positive out of everything. There’s a lot of positives in this one just like the last one. I can’t complain at all.”

That’s the kind of positive attitude Cooks appears to bring to every aspect of his life. Rams general manager Les Snead made that clear by stating at the beginning of the wide receiver’s introductory press conference, “I told Brandin and I was honest when I told him, that if my son could grow up to be half as respected as this guys was during the vetting process I’d be a jacked father for sure. So, that just lets you know what kind of kid this is.”

And as happy as Snead and head coach Sean McVay seem to be about adding Cooks, the wide receiver appears to be on the same page.

“I’m overcome with joy and gratitude to be able to have a special opportunity like this,” Cooks said. “It’s an extreme blessing. Words can’t explain it. I’m glad to be back on the West Coast and I’m looking forward to playing for such a great organization.”

A Stockton, Calif. native, Cooks said he was excited when he first heard about the trade. He was glad to receive a call from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick informing him of the trade, rather than finding out on television or through social media. Then he got on the phone with a few people from his new team, including McVay and wide receivers coach Eric Yarber.

“Right off the bat, the excitement — it just felt like it was a family atmosphere right away,” Cooks said. “I know those guys were just excited just as much as I was and being able to talk with them right off the bat and in a situation like this is huge. I thanked them for this opportunity and I look forward to getting to work.”

“You can see both of us were laughing and smiling through the phone,” Yarber said. “We didn’t need to see our faces, just our voices — we both were elated. He was happy to be here and I was happy to have him just like the rest of the staff members.”

While both Snead and McVay confirmed last week the Rams have had interest in acquiring Cooks dating back to a year ago, the wide receiver understandably wasn’t necessarily paying much attention to Los Angeles in that time. Cooks did say that even from afar, he could tell that the Rams are a young, talented team growing at a fast rate. And now that he’s gotten to meet McVay in person and talk with him a bit, Cooks has a particularly positive impression of McVay.

“[He’s] someone that’s on fire for this game — that breathes, eats, and sleeps for ball, and wants to give his team the best that he can possibly give to help win games,” Cooks said. “The guy is studying already. To be able to see that from a head coach, you have a ton of respect for that and it makes you want to go harder as a player because you know he’s going to put everything into it.”

But based on Cooks’ reputation, he might not need that extra motivation. According to a report from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB, a Patriots assistant told McVay just after the trade was executed that Cooks didn’t miss a single practice rep during the 2017 season.

Asked about the report, Cooks said he takes a lot of pride in his availability.

“At the end of the day it’s God’s grace to be able to be out there. And, I mean, I’m so young still,” Cooks said. “To be able to go out there and if I’m not feeling broken, I feel like I should be out there especially at this young age. So I take pride in that. But at the end of the day it’s a blessing in God’s grace that I’m able to do so.”

Now that the trade is official, Cooks is mainly looking forward to getting to work with his new teammates.

“I come and I just go to work,” Cooks said. “I don’t want the glory, I don’t want to fame. I just come in and always my whole life just wanted to do the best that I can do and be the best that I can be to help my team. I’m not looking for anything selfishly, I just want to help my team whatever case I can to be able to win games at the end of the day and do it in a quiet format.

“I love you guys [the media] and I love meeting everyone,” Cooks later added, “but at the end of the day I want to get to work with the fellas and be able to start to build that rapport together leading up to this year.”

He’ll get that chance shortly with the onset of the offseason program on April 16.