I think you're right. If people here think Cooks was disruptive for publicly expressing his desire to get the ball more often, I can't help but wonder what they think of Smith's insane, violent behavior towards his own team.
Carolina's then coach, John Fox, had to warn the rest of the team not to retaliate against Smith.
There is no doubt that Smith was an excellent WR, but he also sucked all the air out of the room in Carolina. This is why he was traded- his presence was thought to be inhibiting the growth of Newton and their offense. Cooks has been widely praised by both Brees and Brady as a consummate professional. His numbers thus far are at least the equal of Smith's at this point in their careers (while effectively 16 months younger than Smith) playing for two vary diverse offenses in which there is no number one target.
At some point people will have to accept that both Cooks and Ram are excellent players, and this trade was beneficial to both teams.