Yeah, I understand trying to save a smaller bodied player from hits to preserve health, but it's not just that... there is zero aggressiveness and very little toughness to his game. He doesn't even try to gain YAC even when they're there, he doesn't do everything he can to make catches, he doesn't go 100% as a blocker, he usually drops contested catches, and if it's not right there in his face, he does very little to lay out or try to make an athletic play on the ball.
Please don't take this as a slam on Cooks, because I really like the kid and want to see him be dominant. These are just a few observations I have made while watching him play. Football is a very aggressive sport, you can't be passive and finesse all the time. If you don't have that aggressive, I'm going dominate everybody mindset, you have no chance.