Remember how quickly Jared Cook made an impact in his first training-camp practice with the Green Bay Packers back on Aug. 9?
Three plays into that practice, Cook caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The same thing happened in their preseason debut together. On the Packers’ third play from scrimmage on Friday night against the 49ers, Rodgers fired a slant on third-and-3 that Cook caught and turned into a 19-yard gain. The 6-foot-5, 254-pound tight end proved to be a difficult cover for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong (6-foot-3, 220).
“I think he’s going to be a good part of our offense,” Rodgers said. “He made a lot of plays out there. Did a good job on the basic route on third down that I hit him on, made some contested catches tonight, which was nice to see, and he did a good job with the ball in his hands.
Although it was his only catch from Rodgers in their two series together in the win over the 49ers, Cook caught three more passes and finished with four catches for 54 yards. All four of his grabs were for first downs. Two of them came on third down and another on a fourth-and-4 that went for a 12-yard gain from backup Joe Callahan, the story said. This is a great sign for the Packers as well as those who took a shot on Cook in fantasy drafts. Cook has made a little climb in our rankings but is still only 19th with an ADP of the 15th round, which is presenting great value at the position. We think he has TE1 potential if all goes well.
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