The Houston Texans may have the worst odds in the NFL to win the Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season, but it isn’t unlikely that they could have a couple players make their first career Pro Bowl.
According to Marc Sessler of NFL.com, the likeliest player in Houston to earn his first career Pro Bowl is receiver Brandin Cooks.
Slim pickings on a Texans roster littered with a flood of new faces on low-wattage, one-year deals. Houston is mired in extreme transition with little overt hope come September. Cooks, though, sits in good position to produce as the leading man inside a wideout room featuring Donte Moncrief, Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee. With five 1,000-yard campaigns in the past six seasons, Cooks will be leaned on by an offense destined to spend Sundays toiling from behind — no matter who plays quarterback.
If Cooks isn’t able to have another 1,000-yard season with a new quarterback, as he was able to do in 2017 with Tom Brady, 2018 with Jared Goff, and 2020 with Deshaun Watson, then the former 2014 New Orleans Saints first-round pick will be a great presence in the locker room.
“Brandin’s been great with the group,” receivers coach Robert Prince told reporters on June 8 on a Zoom call. “First of all, he shows those guys the right way to practice. That’s where it starts. He’s a great leader, but the way he practices, he’s not a talker only. He’s a doer and all you’ve got to do is watch how he practices.
“As far as in meetings, he’s very engaged. He asks the right questions and he’s willing to take coaching. If your top guy’s willing to do that, then it’s easy for the other guys to follow.”
Cooks caught 81 passes for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns through 15 games last season, all of which he started.