N/S Brandin Cooks traded to Rams (2 Viewers)

[dutar76]

But we have Edelman coming back since he was out all of last year. (torn ACL in preseason)
Hogan
Dorsette
Britt
Mitchel, the rookie we drafted in 2016 and made some good plays in the Falcons Superbowl will be back as well.
White (Falcons killing RB)
Burkhead ( RB who was also hurt a lot of last year but played well)
Hill, the short yardage back we lacked when we lost Blount.
As well as Gronk.

Like Brees, Brady has never needed big names to be productive and that offense on paper is more talented than others we've made it into the playoffs with. Honestly the biggest loss is Solder.

Its our absolute ******* front 7 that we need to fix, especially the LB core. There is a woeful lack of talent past Hightower.

See... you post good honest stuff, and don't make obscene sacrilegious trade offers for our elite young receiver that you simply can't guard... and you get green thumbs.

 

[soggymoss]

Watkins' injury issues have a lot to do with his production as well.

Watkins played for the Rams last year, who ultimately found him not even worth keeping despite giving up a 2nd rounder for him.

That should tell you something about him.

I think the 16 million a year Watkins got on the market deterred the rams more than anything.. If it would've been in the 10-12 range, they would have kept him IMO

 

[soggymoss]

I was originally mad about this but upon further thought it makes sense. That Watkins deal was the death knell of us retaining Cooks. There's no way we'd even approach the 16 million Watkins got let alone match it. I imagine we offered a 10 million APY deal and Cooks said nope bye. I'm happy with the return we got though. I just hope we don't use it on a WR as we are notoriously terrible at drafting WRs and DBs with a few exceptions.

I'll never forget Cooks doing this though-

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

Maybe we can offer you guys a 3rd for Micheal Thomas?

Well, I mean you could offer it.. Doesn't hurt to try.. It hurts when you get laughed at though...

Now you could maybe pry him away for both 1st's and both 2nd's, with Gronk thrown in

 

[The Moose]

I was originally mad about this but upon further thought it makes sense. That Watkins deal was the death knell of us retaining Cooks. There's no way we'd even approach the 16 million Watkins got let alone match it. I imagine we offered a 10 million APY deal and Cooks said nope bye. I'm happy with the return we got though. I just hope we don't use it on a WR as we are notoriously terrible at drafting WRs and DBs with a few exceptions.

I'll never forget Cooks doing this though-

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

Maybe we can offer you guys a 3rd for Micheal Thomas?

He only did that because he is a midget.

The only reason for that play is he is short.

Now i would be impressed if it was anything athletic. That is a short guy catching the ball.

 

[dutar76]

Cooks has:
- elite speed
- elite ball tracking skills
- elite hands

Cooks lacks:
- field vision in traffic
- wiggle
- ability to get separation (other than getting behind a defender)
- ability to shake or break tackles

He's an elite threat. Nothing more, nothing less. When we drafted him, I believe we thought he either was more than that, or could turn into more than that. He wasn't and he didn't.

When the Patriots gave us their first round pick for him, I think 2 things were in play. First, I believe they thought they could really use that deep threat element to put their offense over the top. It could be that they thought there was a good chance they could get that 1st round pick back from us if the draft played out a certain way. It didn't, but he really did add to that offense. And for the dollar amount they were paying him, it was a bargain. But they did come up short in that trade.

Now the Rams trade the #23 pick for Cooks and his one year 8 million dollar contract. Again, I think 2 things are at play in this. Sean McVay is a young coach who just had an amazing season. He's wanting to plug every hole, every loss his team suffered, with an elite player who has proven he can remedy those lacks. Also, there's the "make a team work in LA" factor. McVay could simply have made a few smart but not phenomenal roster tweaks, got his team in back in the playoffs this season, and stood as good a chance as anybody at winning it all. And maybe by the end of the season, there'd be 40k fans in the stands at their home games. Or he can bring in Peters, Talib, Suh, and Cooks... Big names, Hollywood big... and have those 40k fans there for their home opener, and even more by the end of the season, if those big names look like they're going to produce championship results. I think the Rams lost that particular trade, badly.

The Patriots had that elite deep threat specialist for a year on a very cheap contract... then got their draft pick back plus a little interest. Smart football planning and luck all at the same time. Very Belichicky.

So just how much is an elite deep threat specialist worth? 3 first round picks... but pretty cheap money-wise.

 

[bobad]

I was originally mad about this but upon further thought it makes sense. That Watkins deal was the death knell of us retaining Cooks. There's no way we'd even approach the 16 million Watkins got let alone match it. I imagine we offered a 10 million APY deal and Cooks said nope bye. I'm happy with the return we got though. I just hope we don't use it on a WR as we are notoriously terrible at drafting WRs and DBs with a few exceptions.

I'll never forget Cooks doing this though-

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

Maybe we can offer you guys a 3rd for Micheal Thomas?

Did you get a vibe that Cooks talks back to his QB and coach? I got that feeling when he was here, always looking angry and sullen on the sidelines, sometimes saying something to the coach or players that appeared argumantative. Maybe nothing, but I thought I saw it many times.

 

[RogerThat]

Cooks has:
- elite speed
- elite ball tracking skills
- elite hands

Cooks lacks:
- field vision in traffic
- wiggle
- ability to get separation (other than getting behind a defender)
- ability to shake or break tackles

He also rides a mean Gronk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVaf7DqtlvA&index=3&list=LLlpGxJECahcn6gKdXaw-8ZA&t=0s

 

[Rudy]

Of course he has value. He just isn't what he was drafted to be. He's basically Devery Henderson though.

Devery Henderson with hands!

 

[Jeff]

Devery Henderson with hands!

Devery was clutch (and available) throughout his Superbowl. To be fair, by that point Devery had a couple of extra year to hon his craft

 

[fdl16]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/04/05/sean-mcvay-no-limitations-on-how-to-use-brandin-cooks/

Should we tell him?

 

[Rudy]

Devery was clutch (and available) throughout his Superbowl. To be fair, by that point Devery had a couple of extra year to hon his craft

I really liked Devery but Cooks is a better receiver than Devery every was.

 

[play action]

Pats really didn't want to play his contract games. The rams must really think they are going to resign cooks after his rook deal is over. I think cooks is going to go all suheeee after this season and I don't see the rams as being the highest bidder. I do wonder why the rams didn't go after him last yr instead of the pats, would've made a little more sense.

 

[insidejob]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/04/05/sean-mcvay-no-limitations-on-how-to-use-brandin-cooks/

Should we tell him?

“Really, just watching from him coming out, [he’s] just a strong, physical — he might be smaller in stature, but he’s a physical player,” McVay said, via the team’s website. “He’s wired to separate. You see him compete after the catch, you see him compete down the field. And I think being able to play in two systems that I have a lot of respect for with New Orleans and New England, you can really evaluate a variety of routes. And they were moving him around, playing in the slot, playing outside. And that’s the thing that you’re excited about is this guy’s got the ability to create in a variety of ways. And there’s really no limitations in how you can utilize him.”

I thought McVay was an offensive guy? This is all the complete opposite of Cooks. He runs go routes from the slot and outside. And is good for an out route here or there because there's no contact involved with going out of bounds. Did he not watch him get knocked out of the Super Bowl because he's so unaware of what's going on after the catch with the ball in his hands if he hasn't beat his man going deep? There are serious limitations in how you can utilize him. We tried everything for three years.