The New England Patriots wide receiver corps is the deepest its been in a long time, which is why their reported interest in Brandin Cooks is so puzzling.
The New England Patriots passing attack finished third in the NFL in yards per pass attempt and fourth in total yardage for the 2016 season. Yet just two players, Julian Edelman and Martellus Bennett, finished with over 700 receiving yards. That’s a testament to the Patriots pass-catching depth, because they had six different players with over 400 receiving yards in 2016.
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If the Patriots show interest in adding a big-name pass-catcher, it would probably be a tight end to replace Bennett, should he leave in free agency. And if the Patriots target a tight end, it would likely be a first-round prospect like David Njokou or O.J. Howard, seeing how the options in free agency look unappealing.
Instead of spending that first-round pick on a tight end, NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein reports that the Pats offered a package deal to the New Orleans Saints for star wideout Brandin Cooks that included the 32nd overall pick in the draft in their trade proposal. No other details about the trade offer were given, but Katzenstein noted that there are “at least” five teams interested in Cooks.
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Katzenstein is definitely credible, but I would hesitate to buy that the Patriots are interested in acquiring Cooks. The sources in question are most likely in the Saints front office, and they have every reason to do what they can to boost Cooks’s value. New Orleans is looking to fetch a king’s ransom, because it isn’t often that a veteran wideout looking for a big contract gets traded for a first-round pick. Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Tennessee Titans’ No. 18 pick has been mentioned in trade discussions, so you can see just how high the Saints are reaching.
Aside from the fact that it doesn’t make much sense for the Patriots to give up a first-round pick for Cooks, there are two things to consider here. Firstly, as NESN’s Doug Kyed tweeted, the Patriots could simply be helping the Saints in their quest to pry a first-round pick from another team for Cooks, because Sean Payton and Bill Belichick have a close relationship.
However, what’s more likely is that the No. 32 pick was involved in trade discussions, but the Saints rejected the Patriots offer because New England wanted an additional pick from New Orleans. In other words, this wasn’t a one-for-one swap, which is ostensibly the Saints asking price.
Supporting this is a recent tweet from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, confirming that the No. 32 pick was involved in some way, but was offered as part of a “swap of picks:”
No. 32, yes, but would involve a swap of picks. Not a true first rounder (yet) https://t.co/8NsQ4j4wAm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2017
That could make more sense, depending on what the Patriots are interested in obtaining. We’ve seen the Pats make moves in the first round of the draft before, perhaps most prominently when they traded out of the first round in the 2013 NFL Draft with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings would select wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with that pick, and the Patriots snagged defensive standouts Jamie Collins and Logan Ryan with two of those picks.
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Now, the Patriots could be eyeing a “sure thing” in Cooks, whom they’ve evaluated during preseason joint practices a couple of times. Cooks doesn’t seem to fill a need, but he’s one of the NFL’s best wide receivers and arguably the most explosive deep threat in the league behind impending free agent DeSean Jackson.
The former Oregon State star has at least 75 passes, 1,100 yards, and eight touchdowns in the past two seasons, but if he is leaving New Orleans over discontent with his role in the offense, then would he really fit in with New England? After all, the Patriots had just one player with 90 targets (Edelman had 159), and it’s hard to see Cooks garnering more looks from Tom Brady than either Rob Gronkowski or Edelman.
Maybe the Patriots are bullish on Cooks as a deep threat and playmaker, and maybe they see him as the type of threat who could give the Pats the most fearsome passing attack in NFL history. I disagree, and think that the Pats would be more interested in continuing to add young talent, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. It’s hard to stay on top in this league, and the 2016 failings of the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers proves that point.
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Those two teams didn’t shore up their minor weaknesses from the 2015 season, and those issues became magnified. I doubt the Patriots will fall for the same trap, which means that I’m not willing to take this interest at face value just yet.