It made no sense. Brandin Cooks didn’t just survive in every offense he’s ever been in, he’s thrived in them. The nomadic WR out of Oregon State has played for four teams since joining the NFL nine years ago. He’s posted thousand-yard seasons in all of them before joining Dallas.
In seasons in which Cooks has played at least 15 games, he’s posted thousand-yard seasons every single one of them. Yet since joining the Cowboys via trade this offseason, he’s largely been a non-factor. Until Week 10, that is.
Prior to Sunday’s showdown against the Giants, Cooks was on pace for just 36 receptions and a shade over 350 yards for the season. But after erupting for nine receptions and 173 yards, Cooks is now on a more familiar trajectory. He’s not going to get 173 yards every week, but he only needs to average 83 yards to cross the thousand-yard threshold.
4️⃣ to 3️⃣. @dallascowboys up 21-0.
📺: #NYGvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/xSEbsbsoT7— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
Why the Cowboys offense struggled to get Cooks involved for so long is anyone’s guess. Cooks found a way to produce in every system he’s been in. In Dallas, he had Dak Prescott’s arm and Mike McCarthy’s system working in his favor.
It’s not as if McCarthy and Prescott were failing to meet expectations. McCarthy was running a highly efficient offense and Prescott has been performing at an MVP-level pace as of late.
The film showed Cooks hadn’t lost a step. He was still getting in and out of breaks with ease and he appeared to still have the speed that made him special.
Interestingly enough, despite Cooks’ paltry numbers through the first eight games, the Cowboys 11 personnel group was producing the second best they have since Prescott joined the team in 2016. Nothing really made sense this season. Why was Cooks struggling?
Maybe there were too many cooks in the kitchen (shameless, I know). Maybe it’s CeeDee Lambs’ success that was impacting Cooks’ opportunities. Because when the lamb is so delicious, why cook anything else?
I promise, that’s the last one.
In what seemed like a conscious effort to get Cooks involved, the Cowboys offense is finally cooking here in Week 10 (I regret nothing).
If the Cowboys can get Cooks established as a viable threat this season, they would do wonders for their offense. Cooks has the kind of speed players like Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert and Lamb can only dream of. He pushes back the safeties and creates space inside for operators to operate.
Cooks offers a special level of fear to defenses. He can take any ball he touches home for six. Teams know they have to play him carefully. With Lamb’s level of dominance in recent weeks, defenses have had reason to devote extra resources to stop the Cowboys’ top threat. But the ramifications of allowing Cooks the ball in space is too great to hyperfocus on No. 88. Cooks’ emergence helps everyone.
Cooks appears to finally be a viable threat for Dallas and that means good things for the offense moving forward. Because when the Cowboys cook, everyone eats.
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