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Former New Orleans Saints first-round draft pick Brandin Cooks found himself on the move again, when the Los Angeles Rams agreed to trade him to the Houston Texans. The Rams themselves acquired Cooks in a trade with the New England Patriots a few years back, meaning the talented wideout will have played with four different NFL teams before his 27th birthday.
Reactions to the news featured mixed reviews, to put it charitably. The Texans swapped a second-round pick (No. 57 in this year’s draft) for Cooks and a fourth-round pick in 2022, effectively negating the draft capital they gained by shipping out a much better wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins just weeks ago. Texans coach and de facto general manager Bill O’Brien essentially traded Hopkins for Cooks, injury-prone running back David Johnson, and a mid-round pick two years from now.
But let’s not lose sight of the Saints’ role in this. They were the first team to trade Cooks, exchanging him for a first-round pick in the 2017 draft (that eventually became all-world right tackle Ryan Ramczyk), following an offseason in which he bellyached to the media about his sometimes-limited role in the offense.
If Cooks had been more of a team player, it’s possible he and Michael Thomas would have grown into the NFL’s most devastating one-two punch at wide receiver. Instead, he’ll be jostling for targets with Randall Cobb, Kenny Stills (another ex-Saints draft pick), and a handful of other wideouts. Maybe he’ll stick better with the Texans after washing out from other programs.
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