Fantasy Football: The Pros and Cons of Brandin Cooks

The weirdest thing about writing your first article for someone new is where to start. Do you start with a ‘hello’, or being an Australian give the audience a stereotypical ‘G’day!’, or just break straight into whatever it is that I am here to converse and communicate with you?

I have decided to opt out of all of that and start off with an awkward and unorthodox rambling followed by a few sincere and heartfelt thank you’s.

Still with me?

Super!

Fine readers of the Going For 2 fanbase my name is @TheBLeagueSays and I am 100% an ordinary run of the mill Fantasy Football fan.

Like you, I live it. I breathe it. It has consumed my world since my first season in 2012 (hey – I’m a foreigner, now US Citizen and had no idea what Fantasy Football was) when I joined my first 8 Team League of Record – ironically filled with a bunch of Englishmen. I have been hooked ever since my first waiver wire add/drop when I bounced Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown for Mikel Leshoure and Marcel Reece. Nobody told me the rules, I had to learn the hard way that what I had done was a huge mistake. It could have deterred me from playing, I could have spat the dummy and walked. Instead, I delved into it. All of it. And what a world the Fantasy Football community is.

My first opportunity to write was and still is with The Back Row Fantasy show (@TheBackRowShow). They have supported this passion for writing of mine – so please if you don’t mind; thank you Bark, Arms, Knit, and Chris for always encouraging more – I am yet to find a more connected group, and most importantly –  I am a fan of your work.

And if this community is as strong as I believe it is, support them also by giving them a follow, subscribe, download, rate and review. From me to you – Thank you!

Also, Thank You Geoff Lambert for giving me a chance to write not just for you but your followers, your listeners and with your esteemed and selfless writers who all put in time, hard work and research that have followed this path long before I have – in advance, I want to say I am uber excited to work alongside you all, but more importantly learn about how to be better at this and grow with you. From me to you – Thank you!

The article I will bring to you leading up to the traditional NFL Fantasy Draft Season (yes, you hardcore fans who completed Rookie Drafts and for those who play Dynasty will get a chuckle out of that – but information is still information) will be based on the Pro’s and Con’s of players the community has split ideas on.

So I bring to you, the first edition of Pro’s and Con’s – Thank you, and enjoy!

The Pros and Cons of…..Brandin Cooks

Good lord almighty I am not sure I have seen someone over the past 3-4 seasons divide opinions as much as this guy does.

First of all – Cooks is an excitement machine. The first time I watched him play, was in Corvallis – I knew the Punter at Oregon State and headed out to watch them play. Cooks was there. And watching him connect with QB Sean Mannion (who by the way is the backup at Cooks’ newest and 3rd team in 3 years the LA Rams).

The Beavers were stacked. Mannion held some crazy numbers and records in the Pac 12, and Cooks’ sidekicks were Marcus Wheaton and Jacquizz Rodgers. Not a bad outfit at all.

My mind since then has been:

A) what an athlete

B) what a talent

C) what a talented athlete

Speed, route running, timing, and execution. Traits he had then that still carries over to today. Drew Brees loved him. Tom Brady loved him. Sean McVay and Jared Goff are going to love him.

Did you know:

• Brandin Cooks has 3 seasons of back-to-back 1000 yard seasons? (1138, 1173, 1082)

• Brandin Cooks has scored a minimum 6 touchdowns per year since he came into the league? But his Rookie year (only 10 games played with 3 TDs) brings his averages fairly down. If you take his last 3 years as a Veteran, he averages 8 TDs a year.

• Since his Rookie season in 2014, his Yards Per Reception has gone up from 10.4 YPR to 16.6 YPR

• He has not missed a game in 3 seasons. Health is not an issue.

Do you know why I know all of this?

Because I am the sucker who happened to vote against him in an online poll and read one of his loyal defenders (or his burner account, either way) and had it out with nearly everyone about why the population was wrong. I asked him questions. He defiantly had answers, it was Memorial Day and if he was a tad assertive I will claim he may have sunk a few cans. But since then, it has bothered me. How can someone not be open-minded enough to think they can’t be wrong? This guy can’t be serious! Maybe he should listen to what I’m telling him.

What bothered me most about all this is that at not one point during the conversation is that I didn’t (try to or want to) listen, understand or look at what he was saying. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was wrong.

So if I am indeed wrong – awesome. Here is an area of opportunity to dive into Cooks, who recently signed a mega deal worth $49.495 million in guarantees for the Rams which could have big repercussions for those that play in dynasty leagues, keeper leagues, DFS or redraft.

After a few moves on both the New England Patriots and LA Rams, we now see Cooks in the NFC West, in an extremely young and talented Rams unit.

LA Rams Targets Available:

So before we even consider how a game may pan out and how he may need to be used, there are already 2 players that have left the Rams 2018 roster which free’s up enough Targets for Cooks to eat. On average he hits 120 Targets a year and that’s quite a feat considering the prolific offenses he has played with. Is it unfathomable to think he cant pinch 5-10 Targets from Todd Gurley, who had the second most Receptions (64) amongst Running Backs off of 84 Targets? I don’t think so.

Players Who Have Left LA:

Tavon Austin; 22 Targets / 13 Receptions

Sammy Watkins; 70 Targets / 39 Receptions

92 Total Targets Available.

Brandin Cooks Numbers:

Pros:

Previous Competition for Targets: 

Last year Brandin Cooks was a little lucky as the injury bug hit New England. Malcolm Mitchell was nowhere to be seen. Julien Edelman tore his ACL before the season started. Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan are always banged up – and you have Tom Brady as your QB. To say Cooks made the most of his time and held his own in New England would be fair, as another 1000 yard season was attained. The quality in New England, to me, is clearly greater and although the Rams spread targets around quite evenly there is nothing worse than the unpredictability of the Patriots game plan and play calling. Cooks to the Rams is a big plus for me.

How can Cooks improve: 

Cooks has always been known as a guy who can burn anyone on the outside. Bubble screens. Jet Sweeps. Play Action. Get him in open space and he can hurt nearly anyone. He is undoubtedly the best pure Receiver on the Rams Offense this season. To see that Sammy Watkins (previously on the Rams) who was thought to have the same skillset as Cooks, only to score 7 of his 8 TDs from inside the Red Zone area leads me to believe that this could be an area of opportunity for Cooks to be effective in a role that he hasn’t always been used. He has shown that new teams and new systems aren’t going to hold back his numbers so this is also a plus for me.

How will Cooks be used: 

I can’t imagine the Rams want Todd Gurley receiving the ball 64 (of 87 Targets) times again. He needs to be protected more – and if they are leading games more often than not (as we have seen how the other teams on the NFC West have shaped up) the need to chase and throw to Gurley in the backfield and open space may not be as high a priority.

I think Cooks can eat off of Gurley, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods’ plate especially with the free targets available with Watkins and Austin leaving also. I expect some more short to intermediate routes because Goff seems to like putting it in that range. And if that is the case, is it possible for Cooks to play in the slot a little more than normal and create a mismatch with that speed? It’s certainly possible.

Cons:

Current Competition for Targets:

The Wide Receiver group is healthy in LA. I have mentioned Kupp, Woods, and Gurley as Receivers. Throw in Tight End duo of Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everitt. Mix in some promising Pharoah Cooper – there are a lot of mouths to feed. Coach Sean McVay in his second season may go with the tried and trusted which could add to a slow start for Cooks.

Is he the Rams answer to losing Sammy Watkins?:

He is much better than Sammy Watkins. And all you Sammy Watkins truthers can come after me. I do not care – it’s not 2015 anymore, he has done nothing since. This is an upgrade. Sammy Watkins leveraged the Chiefs into a huge contract after losing Albert Wilson, having a new QB in Pat Mahomes who wants to ‘Air Raid’ it out on top of a weak Rookie WR class in 2018. The stars aligned, he cashed out. Not only is he a better answer, he is the evolution in their offense.

How can this affect usage?:

I think Cooks will demand respect and attention on the field and in the huddle. I think Sean Mannion will ‘wise him up’ on the team culture and work ethos. I think Sean McVay will unlock the true Brandin Cooks.

2018 Prediction:

Summary:

So here is where I stand…. Brandin Cooks is what he is. He may well bounce around per week as the top points scorer and win you many, many weeks. He may cost you a few if the LA Rams don’t need to play from behind and chase a game or take unnecessary risks. What he is though, is an extremely competent, professional Wide Receiver in a team that wants to win and win big, with a coach who wants to exploit his skills and gets him to produce.

I think he performs around what he has always averaged. And that is fine also, because that, at worse is a Top 10 Wide Receiver. Don’t feel bad for reaching to get Cooks, and if he happens to fall to you – feel good in pulling the trigger on this stud of a Receiver

I want to thank you for getting this far and taking in everything I have presented. You can as always follow and find me at @TheBLeagueSays and offer any view or conversation about this.

But please, most of all – Enjoy!

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