New Orleans Saints: Will Ryan Ramczyk be worth Brandin Cooks trade?

The New Orleans Saints’ trade with the Patriots caused them to lose Brandin Cooks and gain Ryan Ramczyk, but will it prove to be worth it?

When the New Orleans Saints traded Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots, people were confused. Sure, Cooks was worth a first-round pick, but he was their top receiver. Since then, both teams made some interesting moves but it all comes down to the players. Most notably, the Saints took offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk from Wisconsin with the No. 32 pick that they received from New England.

Drafting Ramczyk as their second first-round pick was a head-scratcher, no doubt. We all assumed the Saints would draft an available defensive player, but decided to pick up offensive line help instead. Ramczyk will be great for security, especially with how unhealthy the O-line was last season, and he’ll only help Terron Armstead. With the addition of Adrian Peterson, the team needs a healthy and consistent offensive line.

It’s likely Ramczyk will have a starting job by the beginning of the season. If he’s healthy and shows promise, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t. If not, he’s a great player to invest in for the future. Ramczyk will more than likely be a key part of how successful the Saints are and how far they get this season.

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Then there’s Cooks. During his time with the Saints, Cooks was phenomenal. Now that he’s with the Patriots, he’s no longer the golden boy. He’ll be joining a squad of talented receivers who have been there longer and know their place. It’s reasonable to worry that Cooks could get lost in the shuffle and not getting as many receptions.

It won’t be all bad for Cooks, though. He finally has a chance to be a contender including maybe going to the Super Bowl. There’s already talks out of OTAs about his chemistry with Tom Brady and he could post some solid numbers. With Brady’s huge number of targets, though, it will be interesting to see what Cooks’ role will be.

Neither will be unsuccessful in 2017 by any stretch. However, I think that Ramczyk will have the bigger impact. The Saints need him on the offensive line, especially with the three-headed monster they field now at running back. Cooks will have nice numbers, but he’s joining a group already filled with talent and won’t be as clear-cut of a No. 1 option as before.

Until the season begins, all we can do is speculate. With both teams vastly improving this offseason, they might both be contenders. Either way, the Brandin Cooks trade will forever be a puzzling part of the Saints history.

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