Five Things to Know about Rams WR Brandin Cooks

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Five-Things-to-Know-about-Rams-WR-Brandin-Cooks/0ac4456e-6c28-4837-a22d-e8585cfa9b86

Los Angeles made its move for another explosive playmaker this week, trading for Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The wideout will join Robert Woodsand Cooper Kupp as the potential starters for 2018 and should add a dynamic, vertical presence to the receiving room.

Here are five things to know about the newest Ram:

1) He is one of the NFL’s most consistent receivers

Cooks was drafted by the Saints in 2014 as the 20th overall pick. Since then, the Oregon State product has developed into one of the most consistent wide receivers in the league — posting three consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving.

He is also one of just three active players to record at least 1,000 and at least five touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. The only other players on that list are Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown and the Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald.

Cooks finished his 2017 campaign in New England with 65 receptions, 1,082 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns.

2) Cooks set several records while at Oregon State

Not only did Cooks play in every single game through three seasons at Oregon State, but he was also one of the Beavers’ top receivers — awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top wideout in 2013.

The combination of Cooks and wide receiver Markus Wheaton created one of the most dynamic receiving duos in college football and in Oregon State history. In the 2012 season alone, the players combined for 158 receptions, 2,395 yards, and 16 touchdowns.

Rams quarterback Sean Mannion was the Oregon State starter for all of Cooks’ collegiate career. The duo will reunite during the 2018 offseason program, when Cooks’ officially joins the Rams on field.

3) He is an avid photographer

Take a peak at Cooks’ Instagram page and you’ll immediately notice his passion for photography. When he’s not playing football, the young receiver can often be found with a camera in hand, capturing some of the most beautiful cities and landscapes around the world.

According to an interview with ESPN, Cooks’ passion for photography developed slowly throughout his life. After his father passed away when Cooks was just six years old, he realized the value in capturing every important moment of his life — good or bad.

“There’s not too many pictures I have with my dad growing up, or just moments that we had,” he told ESPN. “And I always told myself I want to capture as much as I can. So, I leaned towards photography just because that’s the easiest way to capture memories and being able to see them in the future.”

4) Cooks spent his first NFL check on a gift for his mother

Because Cooks grew up primarily in a single-parent household, he is understandably very close to his mother. After declaring for the NFL Draft after the 2013 season, he decided to thank his mom, Andrea, for all she did for him and his three brothers — gifting her with a brand new Mercedes GLK.

And in true Cooks’ fashion, he captured the loving moment on video.

5) The story behind his trademark touchdown celebration

Before it was outlawed by new rules governing NFL touchdown celebrations, Cooks’ signature bow-and-arrow motion had become his trademark. After every touchdown and every big play, the process was the same: pull back an invisible bow and fire an invisible arrow.

But why a bow and arrow? And why choose the same celebration week after week?

“It has to do with the Bible,” Cooks said in an interview with NOLA.com. “That was just one of my things giving my glory to God for blessing me to do what I do.”

The celebration alludes to a Bible verse in which a boy named Ishmael uses his archery to survive in the desert after nearly dying of thirst.

Vincent Bonsignore@DailyNewsVinny
Been watching a bunch of Brandin Cooks video tonight. Obviously it all has to come together on the field but, wow, #Rams could be lethal

[Cooks has] certainly out produced Sammy, although he’s played in prolific passing offenses so that helps. As far as size, he’s definitely more Steve Smith, Antonio Brown and Stephon Diggs than, say, Dez Bryant. But as they say, the numbers don’t lie.

a benefit of being in L.A. now. A whole bunch of players live in the area, and weather allows for year round work.

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Rams led the NFL last season in TDs, yards/attempt and passer’s rating in passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage per @PyroStag

Those of you listening to @ColinCowherd just now heard him say the Rams vetted OBJ for a potential trade, didn’t like what they discovered and, therefore, decided to move for Brandin Cooks. @CVRamsClub @DowntownRams

Ben Volin@BenVolin
Cooks isn’t the type of receiver the Patriots usually covet. They want guys like Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan and before that Brandon LaFell, players who can pick up tough yards after the catch, reliably convert third downs, and get physical in the run game.

SiriusXM NFL Radio@SiriusXMNFL
I was like Wow…This team is sending a message to the league that we want to win right now. @brandincooks can take the top off of a defense & takes pressure off of Gurley and Goff…it is pick your poison with this team

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Sean McVay on Brandin Cooks: “They were moving him around, playing him in the slot, playing him outside. There are no limitations with how you can use him.”

Myles Simmons@MylesASimmons
McVay: After evaluating Cooks’ tape, feel like this guy fits in any system because “this guy can ball.”

On @ESPNLosAngeles, McVay describes Cooks as, “Strong, physical — he might be smaller in stature, but he’s wired to separate.”

Ian Rapoport@RapSheet
Two #Rams notes on the Brandin Cooks trade: 1. Cooks and QB Jared Goff have already been throwing together this offseason, building a rapport. 2. LA believes Cooks is more of an impact player than they could get at 23. And they still have 8 draft picks, including 4 in the top 136

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Quotes on Brandin Cooks from GM Les Snead here, via @SI_PeterKing: “When it got finalized…you had a very happy head coach and offensive play-caller … and you know that they are one and the same.”

Alden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
The Rams’ quest: Build a juggernaut now, worry about the rest later.

The Rams will become the first team to carry two defensive tackles who have been All-Pro at least three times. Very few have had two defensive tackles who have been All-Pro even twice. Finding comps is not easy.

Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
The Rams are super, super tight against the cap right now, when you include money for draft picks. They could really help themselves by, for instance, signing Lamarcus Joyner to a new deal instead of his $11.3-million tag tender.

Gary Klein@LATimesklein
Brandin Cooks appears to be a perfect personality fit on receiver row in Rams locker room. But OBJ would have been something.

One of these years, we’ll see what Sean McVay can do when selecting a first-round pick.

Armando Salguero@ArmandoSalguero
Robert Quinn says he was “pretty much shocked, honestly” on being traded from the Rams to the Dolphins.

Robert Quinn not thrilled with the Rams: “It’s like this, this is the first time I’ve been traded. You commit yourself to someone and you have your family turn their back on you.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

By trading for Brandin Cooks, Rams get missing piece on offense

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/38238/by-trading-for-brandin-cooks-rams-get-their-missing-piece-on-offense

LOS ANGELES — Les Snead, in his seventh year as the Los Angeles Rams’ general manager, had spent the entire offseason wheeling and dealing for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, parting with Alec Ogletree and Robert Quinn, trading for Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, and signing Ndamukong Suh.

Apparently he didn’t want Sean McVay, his head coach and offensive playcaller, to feel left out.

On Tuesday afternoon, Snead acquired a new No. 1 wide receiver at a heavy price. He sent his upcoming first-round pick, No. 23 overall, to the New England Patriots in exchange for the speedy Brandin Cooks, who will replace the departed Sammy Watkins as the new “X” receiver and vertical threat. The Rams also received a fourth-round pick and sent away a sixth-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

They don’t have a pick in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and they don’t have much certainty at three of their four linebacker spots. But here’s what they do have: A menacing defensive line, with Suh — scheduled to be introduced Wednesday morning — joining Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. A standout secondary, with Talib and Peters joining the trio of Lamarcus Joyner, John Johnson III and Nickell Robey-Coleman. And, now, an elite wide-receiver group.

Cooks will probably play a similar role to Watkins, stretching the field vertically to free up the likes of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Todd Gurley. But he’s faster, younger and more productive than Watkins. He represents the third player at the end of his rookie contract that the Rams have traded for in a span of eight months, after Watkins and Peters.

Brandin Cooks averaged 16.6 yards per reception last season with the Patriots. Steven Senne/AP
Watkins and Peters basically cost second-round picks. Cooks cost a first, which seems to make it a necessity to sign him long term. The 24-year-old is represented by Ryan Tollner of Rep1 Sports, the same agent as the Rams’ franchise quarterback, Jared Goff. The connection gives the Rams confidence that they can sign Cooks long term, but it’s Goff’s timeline that even makes this possible.

The Rams are a contending team getting great value at the most important position, which frees up the ability to be so aggressive elsewhere.

Goff will cost about $16.5 million toward the salary cap over the next two seasons, then will be on his fifth-year option in 2020. Before then, the Rams will look to extend Donald and Cooks, and potentially Gurley and Peters. It’ll make for some tricky salary-cap maneuvering. But the Rams are currently projected to have roughly $250 million in salary-cap space going into the next two offseasons, more than any other team.

Cooks has totaled 227 receptions for 3,393 yards and 24 touchdowns with the Patriots and the New Orleans Saints over the past three years, ranking 15th in the NFL in yards per catch during that time. He fills a major need in the Rams’ offense, one the team could only piece together by committee. He cost a lot, but he is the final piece to an offense that now looks about as menacing and elite as the Rams’ defense and special teams.

Now the Rams have to justify it all with a Super Bowl.

Rams already interested in extending Brandin Cooks

Rams already interested in extending Brandin Cooks

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Rams continue to load up, trade Patriots for receiver Brandin Cooks

https://sports.yahoo.com/rams-continue-load-trade-patriots-receiver-brandin-cooks-220702405.html

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Patriots trading Brandin Cooks to Rams for first-rounder, sources say

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23019268/new-england-patriots-trading-brandin-cooks-los-angeles-rams

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Rams acquire receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick from Patriots for a first and a sixth

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-brandin-cooks-20180403-story.html

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Rams keep going all in, possibly with short-term players

Rams keep going all in, possibly with short-term players

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Mike Clay@MikeClayNFL
Important Brandin Cooks stat: The Rams had their third WR on the field for an NFL-high 92 percent of pass plays last year. Their #3 WR is a starter and every-down player.

Jordan Schultz@Schultz_Report
#Rams wouldn’t have made this trade if they didn’t feel good about ultimately resigning Brandin Cooks. Remember, Cooks is from Cali + is represented by Ryan Tollner of Rep 1 Sports … SAME agent as Jared Goff. Rams have established lots of goodwill b4 Cooks even sets foot in LA.

Eric Edholm@Eric_Edholm
quick take on Patriots-Rams trade:

NE accumulating assets — have multiple needs (edge & LB speed, pass catchers, Brady’s successor, DB depth). Now have have ability to see how draft develops and adjust accordingly.

Cooks might be upgrade on Watkins. Slot flexibility.

Dan Orlovsky@danorlovsky7
The @RamsNFL needed to make this trade. The offense they run NEEDS a guy with vertical juice, & they didnt have that. Cooks is a good player, but his biggest contribution will be the vertical stress he will put on the D in the PA game for McVay. #LARams @gmfb @nflnetwork

Michael David Smith@MichaelDavSmith
I like what the Rams are doing because it’s fun to see a team go for broke and try to win it all right now.

But this whole thing could go south quickly. Adding guys in the last years of their contracts and trading away high draft picks is a good way to fall off a cliff in 2019.

Brandin Cooks is one of four players to record at least 3 seasons of 1,000 Rec Yds & 7 TD before his 25th birthday. pic.twitter.com/6iHO98CrCa

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2018