: Brandin Cooks
Saints WR Brandin Cooks' sample size was only about one-third of Antonio Brown's output. That being said, the traits between the two are strong.
The Saints wide receiver ranked second in the NFL in catch percentage among wide receivers playing in 25 percent of the snaps in 2014 by Pro Football Focus.
Drew Brees targeted Cooks 65 times with the wideout tallying 53 receptions. Only two of those missed opportunities were drops by Cooks. Brees also compiled a 110.9 quarterback rating when throwing to Cooks.
Brown's 129 catches came on 178 targets, resulting in a 72.5 completion percentage when targeted. The Steelers' stud receiver led the NFL in completion percentage when ranking the players taking at least 50 percent of the snaps in 2014.
The article discusses how Cooks has gone to Brown for advice about becoming a better wide receiver. Through Week 11, Cooks was the #22 WR in PPR formats and #25 in standard scoring systems. He caught at least five passes in seven of 10 games, and is likely to lead the Saints in targets with Jimmy Graham no longer on the roster. Solid WR2 numbers are well within reach, and Cooks could conceivably finish as a WR1 in PPR leagues.
Saints WR Brandin Cooks was really starting to hit his stride when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury in Week 10 last year. Of all the rookie receivers who burst into the scene in the NFL last year, Cooks was actually leading all rookie receivers with 53 receptions at the time of his injury. And the Saints were starting to consistently hit on some deep balls to the 5-10, 189-pound speedster.
Drew Brees said he and Cooks have already spent some time training together this offseason in San Diego, where Brees calls home base when he's not in New Orleans.
"Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah," Brees said when asked if Cooks is one of the guys he's excited to watch develop. "Man, I love everything about him, his makeup, and then just his physical ability. I mean he's got all kinds of talent."
Through Week 11, Cooks was the #22 WR in PPR formats and #25 in standard scoring systems. He caught at least five passes in seven of 10 games, and may lead the Saints in targets with Jimmy Graham no longer on the roster. Solid WR2 numbers are well within reach.
Can Saints WR Brandin Cooks become a No. 1 WR?Statu...
Can Saints WR Brandin Cooks become a No. 1 WR?
Stature stands in the way of Cooks being perceived as a No. 1-type wide receiver in the NFL. Not many true No. 1 wideouts are 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds.
Yet Cooks needs to be that primary pass catcher with the Saints losing Kenny Stills in a trade to Miami and Marques Colston's best days behind him. Cooks only turns 22 in September and missed the last six games last season with a hand injury. Cooks possesses the tools to become the guy.
As the author points out, those are lofty expectations for Cooks. But we've all seen Steve Smith become a Pro Bowler as a No. 1 wide receiver for Carolina for several seasons. Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown is the latest example leading the NFL in catches and yards last season, the story adds. Cooks said this offseason how he's striving to emulate Brown. With no more Stills and Jimmy Graham, the Saints hope and need Cooks to quickly develop into their top option. This seems to be good news for his fantasy value heading into 2015.
Marques Colston has restructured his contract to remain with the Saints, via a league source.
Colston was the #36 WR in PPR and #32 in standard formats in 2014. His return puts a dent in Kenny Stills' upside, since Stills was likely to see starter's snaps with Colston out of the way. Brandin Cooks will continue to man the slot and is the best fantasy bet of the bunch.
Marques Colston might be back with the New Orleans Sain...
Marques Colston might be back with the New Orleans Saints next year. But just in case he isn’t, the Saints cherished his game-winning touchdown in Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for all it was worth.
Colston was awarded a game ball after turning a short pass into a 36-yard TD with 1:57 remaining. And the usually-stoic veteran even shed a tear, fellow receiver Robert Meachem told The Advocate.
“You couldn’t have scripted a better ending,” said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who acknowledged that assistant coach Joe Vitt had made the team aware of certain milestones they could reach in the season finale -- including the fact that Brees and Colston could move into fifth place in NFL history with 68 touchdowns as a duo (they broke a tie with Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne).
Brees, Meachem and receiver Kenny Stills all insisted that they expect Colston to be back in 2014, even though his future is in doubt since he’s due $7 million in salary and bonuses. But the emotion they all expressed made it clear that they’re prepared for the possibility Colston, 31, might be done after nine seasons with the Saints. Colston could take a pay cut to stay, the story pointed out, but Saints may want to move on with a healthy Brandin Cooks back next year to go along with Stills, who emerged this year after injuries slowed his start to 2014.
It’s the year of the rookie wide receiver in the NFL an...
It’s the year of the rookie wide receiver in the NFL and as much as Giants WR Odell Beckham has stood out, he’s got plenty of company.
A dozen or more rookies are making impacts, and while the list includes first-round picks like Beckham, the Bucs’ Mike Evans, the Panthers’ Kelvin Benjamin, the Bills’ Sammy Watkins and the Saints’ now-injured Brandin Cooks, second rounder Allen Robinson of the Jaguars, third-rounder John Brown in Arizona and even an undrafted free agent like the Browns’ Taylor Gabriel are getting into the act.
Of the 12 WRs selected in the first two rounds of the 2014 draft, only one, Cody Latimer, who has been a healthy scratch most of the year for the Broncos, hasn’t reached double digits in catches. At this pace, it will be the best receiving class in history. Draft experts agreed this was going to be a rich, deep vein but they’ve even gone beyond expectations.
It never used to be that way but rookie WRs are now making an immediate impact and help to make it a deep position in the fantasy world. Drafting them in the right round is often the key to taking advantage of their value, though. For the most part, the guys mentioned above in the story did take at least some time to develop. As always, the later you can snag a rookie, and let him ride your bench until he develops is the key. We try not to advise our subscribers to jump too early on them despite excitement surround them.
Saints wide receiver Nick Toon received the biggest bum...
Saints wide receiver Nick Toon received the biggest bump in playing time with Brandin Cooks' injury. Toon played 44 offensive snaps (60 percent) in by far his most plentiful snap count this season.
Running back Pierre Thomas jumped back in with 39 snaps (53 percent). This led to a drop for Mark Ingram, who only played on 25 snaps (34 percent).
Thomas had just five carries to Ingram's 11, but as expected, Thomas was a big part in the passing game with six catches for 37 yards. Ingram had a tough time, at one point having seven carries for 0 yards before finishing with a 11-27-0 line. At WR, Toon ended with three catches for 42 yards but it was Kenny Stills who had eight catches for 98 yards and seemed to benefit the most from a fantasy perspective with Cooks not being in the lineup.
Saints beat writer Mike Triplett on the team's offensive game plan against the Ravens:
Based on this matchup, I don't expect the Saints to be too stubborn with the run -- especially after their run game was surprisingly shut down by Cincinnati last week. But in general, the Saints have relied on the run game more this season than ever in the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era. They are eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game, and Mark Ingram had three straight 100-yard games before last week.
But the offense is really stuck in a sort of identity crisis that we haven't seen before. The efficiency stats are up: Brees leads the NFL in completion percentage and the Saints lead the NFL in third-down success. But Brees also has turned the ball over too much (10 interceptions, two fumbles). And the deep ball has been hit or miss -- even before they lost their best deep threat, Brandin Cooks, to a broken thumb. I'm guessing we will see the Saints get pretty aggressive to try to get out of their rut Monday night.
This could mean a big day for Kenny Stills, who was the team's primary deep threat as a rookie. He should see at least 6-7 targets with Cooks out the remainder of the year.
Saints beat writer Mike Triplett on how the team will replace injured WR Brandin Cooks:
The Saints will rely even more heavily on Jimmy Graham and receivers Marques Colston and Kenny Stills going forward. Colston has been more inconsistent this year than ever before with too many dropped passes. But the Saints haven't lost faith in him. He's continued to lead them in snaps each week, and he led them with eight targets and 56 receiving yards against the Bengals.
From a fantasy standpoint, I might stubbornly give a slight nod to Colston over Stills for that reason -- though it's close, and both should see slight increases in production.
It will be interesting to see if this also opens the door for deep-threat receiver Joe Morgan, who has only caught one pass all season while being mostly inactive (and suspended for two weeks for an unspecified team issue). Morgan flashed his dazzling big-play potential with 10 catches for 379 yards and three touchdowns in 2012. But then he missed all of 2013 with a major knee injury.
Both Colston and Stills should see more targets, but we view Stills as the better fantasy acquisition since he has been posting strong WR3 numbers since Week 7. He has averaged 4.2-58-.40 in the last five weeks, and that was with Cooks still in the lineup. For more on Stills, be sure to read the Sleeper Alert that Senior Editor John Paulsen wrote in the preseason.
The New Orleans Saints placed starting rookie receiver Brandin Cooks on injured reserve on Tuesday, ending his season.
Cooks' agent said on Monday that the Saints' second-leading receiver had surgery on his right thumb on Monday and was expected to be out four to six weeks. Cooks, a first-round draft choice last spring, has assumed a prominent role in the offense and also has been New Orleans' primary punt returner.
He's second on the Saints in both catches with 53 and yards receiving with 550, to go with three touchdown receptions this season. He has also rushed seven times for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Cooks must have been closer to the six-week timetable, which would have brought him back into the playoffs. Kenny Stills could see an increase in work and may be worth a pickup off your wire if you're looking for depth at WR. Keep in mind the Saint receivers are often inconsistent because of TE Jimmy Graham and the pass-catching RBs.
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