Receiver Brandin Cooks was nonexistent against the Minnesota Vikings in the Houston Texans’ 31-23 loss Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
The former New Orleans Saint, New England Patriot, and Los Angeles Ram didn’t catch a single pass on three targets in the loss that sent Houston to 0-4 to start the season.
According to Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, part of the reason why Cook was a non-factor was because the Vikings decided to take him out of the game.
“I mean, it was the scheme of Minnesota,” Watson said. “They did their part. I did my job of whatever play call was called to execute the reads and find the open guy. Not saying he was open, but by the time I got back to him, either a defender was in his way or he was probably on the back side of the read. But yeah, I guess that’s just how the day went.”
The Texans traded the 57th overall pick in Round 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft to the Rams for Cooks’ rights. From 2015-18, Cooks logged 1,000-yard receiving seasons, regardless of who he was playing for. With 138 yards through the first four games, it is doubtful Cooks will reach that mark with his new team, though the expectations to still be effective are there.
“Definitely we want to get him the ball because he’s a playmaker, him, [receiver] (Randall) Cobb and all the guys,” said Watson. “But, yeah, that’s just kind of how the game flowed today.”
The best game where Cooks had a flow in the offense was in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens when he caught five passes for 95 yards. Houston will need similar production from Cooks if they seek to get off the schneid and fix their 0-4 start.