Saturday, August 2, 2014

Brandin Cooks

I'll admit it, Much like Kenny Vaccaro last year, I had no clue as to who the guy the New Orleans Saints took in the first round of the draft was. In all of my pre draft analysis this year I never saw or heard much about Brandin Cooks. It turned out, that much like with Vaccaro, I was one of the only people who had not heard of him. This was obviously because of his very promising college career and strong showing at the combine. He ran the second fastest 40 Time at the combine and in college showed time and again his ability to make a guy miss in space. Still, even with so much going for him, a lot of the "experts" said the Saints still took him much earlier than he should have been.

Nonetheless, thus far in training camp Brandin Cooks has shown the kind of potential that made him a first round pick. He has been the star of Saints camp, showing everything the Saints hoped to see and more. On top of his speed, hands, and ability to learn quickly Cooks has also shown surprising jumping ability for a 5'10'' Wide Receiver. In a play earlier this week Cooks out jumped a cornerback and managed to come down with the ball, quite a feat considering his height was one of the biggest concerns with him.

Cooks is a very versatile player that I can see being moved around the field, causing many matchup problems for the defense. He can play like a Lance Moore or Wes Welker in the slot, causing issues for slower Safeties and Nickel Corners. Or Cooks can play like Darren Sproles and line up as a Wing or in the Backfield, putting immense pressure on Linebackers or Strong Safeties trying to cover him. Or he can play on the outside to try and stretch Zone coverage and take the top off of the defense. Cooks is the kind of player who can make plays both as a receiver and as a runner on sweeps and check down passes. He is a very unique player who shows the speed, versatility, and athleticism to make plays whenever he has the ball, adding a dynamic element to the Saints already potent offense and making them even more of a nightmare for defenses to face this year.
 

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