Tag: Brandin Cooks

Drew Brees’ 2016 season called one of the NFL’s best wasted years

Drew Brees’ 2016 campaign featured big numbers but no playoff games. His efforts were picked as one of the best wasted seasons in recent memory:

Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon was inspired by Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals missing the playoffs to create a list of the seven best seasons in the NFL since 2010 that amounted to nothing. Burrow inspired this list, and his teammate Ja’Marr Chase could have made the list. It’s stunning to think those two players had the season they had, and the Bengals missed the playoffs.

They fell short in a fashion the New Orleans Saints are too familiar with, great offense with questionable defense. Drew Brees would be dealing to Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks or an undrafted free agent. It didn’t matter for Brees, but at the end of the season, the Saints wouldn’t make it past the regular season.

Brees led the league in passing yards for three straight seasons between 2014 to 2016, and the Saints had a 7-9 record each year. Of these three seasons, Kenyon placed a spotlight on the 2016 year.

In that season, Brees passed for 5,208 yards. That was the third-most yards in league history at the time, and it still ranks sixth all time. It wasn’t just yards, either. The Saints scored the most points in the NFL. The only problem is they allowed the second-most. That’s not a recipe for success.

Great offense, bad defense. It’s the combination that inspired this list, and the reason Drew Brees’ 2016 finds itself among the group.

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Cowboys will need free agents currently on the back end of roster

Did any bottom roster free agents earn a spot on the 2025 Dallas Cowboys roster with their performance in 2024? | From @cdpiglet

Most of the focus on Dallas Cowboys free agents will be on the bigger-name players with known pedigree. Some will be spent on guys who aren’t totally free to roam around the league, such as Kavontae Turpin.

The reality is a team can only go as far as the bottom of the roster takes them, and the Cowboys have other low-cost decisions that will need to be made in free agency. These players will likely hit the open market to see what is available to them, but Dallas may have a chance to bring some back on the cheap. Which will they choose to pursue?

Linval Joseph, Carlos Watkins, and Carl Lawson were all brought in this year to help with defensive line injuries. Some defensive tackles must be signed for Dallas to fill the position. Either Watkins or Joseph could work, but Lawson could be more difficult to bring back. He had an eye-opening bounce-back year with five sacks, 18 pressures, and 15 QB hits in 14 games. He could get a decent deal on the open market, but Dallas should want him back if the price tag doesn’t get too expensive.

Israel Mukuamu has played safety, boundary and nickel corner for Dallas, including an outstanding 2022 playoff performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Tom Brady, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin.

Dallas loves to reward players like Mukuamu with roster spots, and he shouldn’t cost much to bring back. Amani Oruwariye could also find a place in Dallas based on how he played this season. They may follow Al Harris if he goes elsewhere, but Dallas could get deals with these two defensive backs, which they use as depth pieces as insurance for Lewis leaving or Diggs being injured.

Brandin Cooks has been an excellent second receiver and mentor, but the Cowboys need to upgrade their receiving core with a more impactful veteran or a high draft choice to pair with CeeDee Lamb. Cooks isn’t likely to return. Chuma Edoga could be the swing offensive tackle again, but the ascension of Asim Richards could elevate him to that spot, and the Cowboys let Edoga move on to get younger.

Dallas has more work to do than it should because of its team-building approach. It needs to decide on its coaching direction quickly so that the front office can make the best decisions with all its free agents.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

Brandin Cooks’ return shows Cowboys how important WR2 is for plans

Brandin Cooks has shown the Cowboys how important WR2 should be for their offseason plans, says @ReidDHanson

In the immortal words of the great 20th century philosophers Cinderella, “you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” For a year and some change the Cowboys enjoyed the presence of veteran receiver Brandin Cooks on their offense. Despite falling short of some initial expectations, the 31-year-old pass catcher was a stable presence and legitimate option as WR2 during that time.

For the past seven games the Cowboys got a taste of what life is like without a true No. 2 WR on their roster. Cooks fell to a knee injury in Week 4, forcing Jalen Tolbert to move up the depth chart and leaving his own vacated No. 3 role a revolving door of unproven personnel. Not only was Tolbert clearly fighting above his weight class but no one behind him proved they were ready to step up and fill the void either.

Cooks’ return in Week 13 against the Giants illustrated just how important a true WR2 really is on this team. Three receptions for 16 yards doesn’t sound like much, but when one of those balls is a touchdown and the other a perfectly executed third-down conversion that iced the game, the actual value he added was significant.

In a revelation that’s more about the role of WR2 than the actual WR2 himself, Cooks’ return shows finding a true No. 2 pass catcher this offseason is extremely important for the Cowboys offense. The Cowboys were able to survive the poor outing by CeeDee Lamb on Thursday by having Cooks on the field. Cooks’ veteran presence combined with KaVonate Turpin’s increased usage and Tolbert’s key plays, saved the Cowboys passing game on Thanksgiving Day. It was a trickle-down effect that allowed everyone to play within themselves.

Cooks himself is slated for free agency this winter and expected to leave. Finding someone at least as good, preferably better, has to be a key objective for the Cowboys front office. A free agent class that features Tee Higgins, Stephon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin and Diontae Johnson probably falls outside Dallas’ budget.

If the Cowboys want to properly address the WR2 position it will likely involve a top 50 draft pick. Luckily for Dallas this happens to be a solid WR draft class in 2025. It would be nice to get elite talents like Travis Hunter or Tetairoa McMillan at the top of the first round but if the Cowboys find themselves outside the top 10, they have a chance at plenty of other attractive options.

Dane Brugler from The Athletic currently has Luther Burden and Elic Ayomanor as first round options next spring. Emeka Egbuka, Evan Stewart, and Isaiah Bond are further down the list but also fall inside his top 50. Every one of these players has the ability to be an instant contributor at WR2.

For seven weeks the Cowboys got a taste of what it’s like without a true WR2 on the roster and it wasn’t pretty. Let this lesson serve as a guide when the Cowboys work out their to-do list this winter.

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Cowboys open 21-day practice window for pair of starters

From @ToddBrock24f7: Brandin Cooks developed a knee infection after Week 4’s win; Marshawn Kneeland went down in Week 5. Both should resume practicing Wednesday.

Reinforcements could be coming on both the offense and defense ahead of the Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving gauntlet, even though it may be too late to salvage the greater 2024 season by the time they actually re-enter the lineup.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks and rookie defensive end Marshawn Kneeland had their 21-day practice windows opened by the team on Wednesday. The Cowboys have three weeks to evaluate both players in a practice setting as they return from injury; that’s the deadline for either moving them back to the active roster or placing them on season-ending injured reserve.

Head coach Mike McCarthy had identified both players as being close to a return during a Tuesday press conference.

Cooks has been sidelined since just after the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the Giants. Following the 20-15 win in which he caught just one pass for 16 yards, the 11th-year veteran, who had been dealing with a knee issue since training camp, underwent a meniscus procedure while in New York. The Cowboys’ WR2 option- behind CeeDee Lamb- developed an infection after that procedure, which led to him being placed on IR.

Cooks, 31, has 19 targets on the year, with nine receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.

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Kneeland, the team’s second-round draft pick out of Western Michigan, exited Week 5’s win over Pittsburgh with a non-contact knee injury after just four snaps. While an MRI showed the ACL to be intact, arthroscopic surgery was required to repair the tear.

That injury proved especially costly for a team that was already perilously thin at defensive end well before mid-October; primary options Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence had gone down by that point, and Sam Williams was lost for the entire season during the summer.

Kneeland had registered 10 tackles, three QB hits, a defended pass, and a tackle for loss before his injury.

Both players are expected to resume practicing with the team on Wednesday, and both could be re-activated to the 53-man roster before Sunday’s divisional showdown with the Commanders. Someone else would need to be moved off the roster for that to happen.

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Jake Ferguson quickly becoming Cowboys No. 2 option in passing game

The Cowboys found their No.2 option in the passing game. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys’ passing offense is built around the brilliance of CeeDee Lamb. The fifth-year veteran from Oklahoma has fast become one of the best receivers in the NFL and represents the heart and soul of Dallas downfield attack. After Lamb is where things get interesting.

The No. 2 option in Dallas was supposed to be veteran receiver Brandin Cooks. But a slow start to the season coupled with an untimely injury has landed the veteran on IR and out of the conversation. Jalen Tolbert, the “next man up” in this scenario, enjoyed a coming out party as the Cowboys new WR2. His seven receptions for 87 yards set career highs and his game-winning touchdown against the Steelers in the final seconds cemented his place in rivalry lore forever.

For as promising as Tolbert is, it’s Jake Ferguson, the Cowboys’ tight end, who’s actually the No. 2 pass catching option for Dak Prescott. The 2023 Pro Bowler has quietly posted a rather impressive season thus far in 2024. It’s a testament to his continued development and nothing short of remarkable considering Ferguson has only played in three complete games this season.

In those three games, he’s averaging over 8 targets, 5.6 receptions and 71 yards per game.

In Week 5, Ferguson led all Dallas pass catchers who had three or more targets in success rate (71 percent) and in total EPA (5.4 EPA). He was frequently the secondary option Prescott turned to when Lamb was locked down and a means to exploit second level defenders who were more run-focused in nature.

Ferguson’s ability to play inline (26.6% of the time), in the slot (61.9% of the time) and split out wide (8.6% of the time), makes him a valuable piece to the Cowboys offense. It allows Mike McCarthy to use creative personnel packages without tipping off the offense’s intensions before the snap. His run blocking has been steadily improving and his run after the catch ability has been inspiring to fans as well as teammates.

Ferguson is already No. 2 in Dallas in target share and that’s with only playing three complete games this season. 

Tolbert is an ascending player who the Cowboys will need throughout this heart of the schedule. With Cooks out, Dallas will use a variety of players to fill that secondary WR spot opposite Lamb. KaVontae Turpin played a big part in Pittsburgh and Jalen Brooks made contributions of his own.

Tolbert is top dog, but it may be a committee approach to that No. 2 WR spot going forward. At TE, Ferguson has the spot locked down, and as the No. 2 option on offense, it’s Ferguson who offers Prescott someone to lean on.

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Parsons ruled out in Cowboys vs Steelers final injury report; Diggs, Cooks, LB updates

Several key components from both clubs are going to miss the game and there are a handful of question marks too. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Here’s the good news. They got Ezekiel Elliott and Ryan Flournoy some fluids. The veteran running back and rookie WR set to make his debut in Week 5 vs the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer a concern after dehydrating on Thursday.

Here’s the bad news. As expected, Micah Parsons and Brandin Cooks have officially been ruled out for the 2-2 Dallas Cowboys. Parsons’ high-ankle sprain was a virtual certainty, as was Cooks knee after an infection developed. There’s no word when either will return but it could be a minute for both. Also, CB Trevon Diggs left practice on Thursday and did not participate on Friday, but head coach Mike McCarthy says that he’s set to play.

Meanwhile, the Steelers will also be without a starting pass rusher and key offensive components.

In the final injury report for the week, Pittsburgh ruled out LB Alex Highsmith, RB Cordarrelle Patterson and RB Jaylen Warren. While they’ll still have T.J. Watt to terrorize the young Dallas offensive line, the Steelers struggling run game is going to be without their No. 2 and No. 3 running backs behind the currently plodding Najee Harris.

Also out for Pittsburgh is TE MyCole Pruitt. Here’s the designations from both teams.

Dallas Cowboys

LB Micah Parsons, Ankle | OUT
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Did Not Participate

WR Brandin Cooks, Knee | OUT
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: DNP

CB Caelen Carson, Shoulder | QUESTIONABLE
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Limited Participant

Safety Markquese Bell, Ankle | NO DESIGNATION
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Full Participant

CB Trevon Diggs, Ankle | QUESTIONABLE
Thursday: Limited, Friday: DNP

OT Tyler Guyton, Shoulder | NO DESIGNATION
Thursday, Friday: Full

RB Rico Dowdle, Wrist | NO DESIGNATION
Thursday, Friday: Full

RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dehydration | NO DESIGNATION
Thursday: Limited, Friday: Full

WR Ryan Flournoy, Dehydration | NO DESIGNATION
Thursday: Limited, Friday: Full

LB Marist Liufau, Quad | QUESTIONABLE
Friday: Limited

Wednesday NIR Rest Days: Malik Hooker, Eric Kendricks Jourdan Lewis, Zack Martin

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB Russell Wilson, Calf | QUESTIONABLE
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: LP

RB Jaylen Warren, Knee | OUT
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: DNP

LB Jeremiah Moon, Ankle | QUESTIONABLE
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: FP

LB Nick Herbig, Ankle | NO DESIGNATION
Wednesday: DNP | Thursday: Limited | Friday: Full

G Isaac Seumalo, Pectoral | NO DESIGNATION
Wednesday, Thursday: FP | Friday: Full

TE MyCole Pruitt, Knee | OUT
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: DNP

RB Cordarrelle Patterson, Ankle | OUT
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: DNP

DL Keeanu Benton, Ankle | NO DESIGNATION
Wednesday: LP | Thursday, Friday: Full

DT Larry Ogunjobi, Groin | QUESTIONABLE
Thursday, Friday: Limited

Report: Week 5 opponent, Cowboys’ WR to miss time with infection

The Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh’s Week 5 opponent, will miss their star WR Brandin Cooks in Week 5 with an infection in his knee.

Heading into the 2024 season, health and depth were strengths of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just five weeks in, however, injuries are running rampant. The same can be said for the Steelers’ Week 5 opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, who are expected to be without one of their best players, Micah Parsons, as well as Demarcus Lawrence, who was added to IR.

It has now been reported that Pittsburgh’s Week 5 opponent will also be without their WR2, Brandin Cooks. Cooks, with just under 10,000 career receiving yards in 135 starts, recently underwent a routine procedure that was suspected to be a ‘meniscus trimming.’

The Steelers, dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball, can relate to their opponents struggles with health.  Fans of both can simply hope that their respective teams stay healthy and wait out these injuries in time for playoff push.

The Pittsburgh Steelers look to make history this week against the Dallas Cowboys in what will be their first ever Sunday Night Football meeting on October 6th at 8:20 PM EST.

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Cowboys starting WR out with knee infection suffered in NY medical care

Brandin Cooks has struggled in 2024 and now things are even more complicated. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The hits keep coming for the Dallas Cowboys. The short week visit to the Big Apple was not kind to the boys from the Lone Star State, as injuries have robbed Dallas of several starters for the foreseeable future. Already down their bookend edge rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence for the Week 5 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the offense is now involved as well.

Starting wideout Brandin Cooks will be out this week, and potentially longer, as he’s dealing with an infection. The infection was acquired after he stayed behind in New York after the win over the NFL Football Giants to receive medical treatment for his right knee, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Cooks has struggled to make an impact so far in 2024. He’s been targeted 19 times through four games and only hauled in nine of those for receptions, for just 91 yards. Signed in the 2023 offseason, Cooks scored eight touchdowns in the first year of a two-year agreement, but hasn’t achieved the type of success he’s had at previous stops through his career.

The 31-year old has six career 1,000-yard seasons in his now 11-year resume.

Dallas is perilously thin in established players behind Cooks. Third-year receiver Jalen Tolbert has out-paced him statwise, but has yet to establish himself as a primary target for quarterback Dak Prescott. Kavontae Tuprin, another third-year receiver has a play style most similar to that of Cooks as a vertical threat, and may absorb Cooks snaps. Also in the mix will be second-year man Jalen Brooks and rookie Ryan Flournoy who has yet to play thus far this season.

The Cowboys are also looking outside the organization to help boost the offense, reportedly bouncing around the idea of trading for Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams.

Seperation Anxiety: Space gaining maybe not as problematic as it seems for Cowboys receivers

The Cowboys can do things to improve their separation and make things easier on their offense. | From @ReidDHanson

A receiver’s ability to separate is a rather important skillset to have in football. Separation opens passing windows, making completions easier and increasing yards after the catch. For very obvious reasons, separation is a quarterback’s best friend at any level in football and the NFL is no exception.

Amidst the Cowboys’ recent two-game losing streak, separation numbers have been a topic of conversation. Passing game numbers are abnormally low this season and to many it’s because Dak Prescott isn’t seeing open WRs running downfield.

Fans don’t need the All-22 game film to see some of the evidence of these claims. Brandon Cooks, one of the fastest WRs on the team, has had trouble gaining separation at multiple levels of the field all season. It partially explains his low target rate (five targets per game) and his modest completion percentage when targeted (53 percent). He isn’t getting open and when he is, windows are dangerously tight.

Advanced stats back up the claims. According to Next Gen Stats CeeDee Lamb is second to last in the NFL in average yards of separation at 1.9 yards, Brandin Cooks’ 2.6 yards ranks him 88th and Jalen Tolbert’s 2.7 ranks him 84th.

But for as valuable as advanced stats can be for drawing worthwhile conclusions, the situation isn’t as bad as some stats will have you believe. Separation data such as this gauge separation at the point of catch and ignores all the other routes run by the WR. As one can imagine, ignoring 95 percent of the data can lead to some irresponsible conclusions. In this case it can lead someone to believe the situation is more dire than it really is.

With a statistic such as this, a more subjective analysis is likely in order to more accurately grade the situation. Grading each route at its break point would probably be the proper way to grade route running and separation ability. Fantasy outlets and organizations such as Pro Football Focus who grade on and off ball player performance are a better resource to grade separation, and they have generally come to a much different verdict.

It’s true the Cowboys WR group could be much better with their separation than they currently are, but majority of their players are still operating in average territory.

CeeDee Lamb isn’t lighting the world on fire with his silky route running but he’s grading better than the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel and Justin Jefferson, who are all regarded as elite separators in the NFL.

The All-22 doesn’t absolve blame but rather points it in the right direction. For instance, many of the routes themselves lack decent jukes or even wiggle. Cooks specifically can be seen running vanilla routes without any fake stabs or misleading turns attached. Tolbert has looked uninterested in creating any deception with his routes as well. He’s graded as one of the worst WRs in separation score. All this considered, it’s no wonder coverage is tight for the Cowboys at the target and/or catch point.

Secondly, the play design and timing doesn’t seem to be doing the WRs any favors. Alternating WR break points through Prescott’s progressions should be in the play design. Instead, multiple players are breaking open simultaneously, so if Prescott isn’t watching that specific player at the time of the break, he’s missed his window of opportunity.

Finally, McCarthy can do things the old-fashioned way and create separation through bunch formations and rub routes. McCarthy frequently did this in Green Bay making things exceedingly difficult for opponents to defend. Motion at the snap can help a WR get off the line and dictate the leverage of the coverage. It’s just another way a coach can scheme players open for his QB.

Pass protection is an issue for the Cowboys, which is likely why players aren’t spending much time shaking and baking defensive backs every snap, but there has to be a happy medium where pass protectors hang on a micro-second longer and route-runners give their routes just a touch more deception. The rest is really on Prescott with his progressions and the coaching staff for building workable plays.

The issue isn’t separation catastrophic, but it’s real and something that should be addressed. Luckily, it’s also fixable.

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CeeDee Lamb shockingly underused in Cowboys offense in 2024

The Cowboys are doing a poor job of flowing through CeeDee Lamb this season. | From @ReidDHanson

It’s no secret the Cowboys offense runs through star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb these days. Dallas’ $136 million man boasts the NFL’s second-highest annual salary for a non-quarterback (tied with Joey Bosa) and is coming off an All-Pro season where he led the league in receptions (135).

Splitting time outside, inside and even out of the backfield, Lamb has been a weapon on short routes, deep routes and as a ball carrier. While he’s only run the ball three times for 25 yards, he’s managed two first downs, just one shy of running back Ezekiel Elliott’s first down total this season. As a pass catcher Lamb ranks 15th in the NFL with 151 receiving yards, and 28th with nine receptions. Those totals are certainly respectable through two weeks, but they are not what anyone has come to expect from the Cowboys’ top weapon.

sam hoppen

With a target share just under 23%, only seven teams have a No. 1 WR with a smaller share than Lamb’s. In fact, multiple teams have secondary WRs with larger target shares than Lamb and one team, the Jets, even has their No. 3, Allen Lazard, with a larger target share than Lamb.

Lamb’s modest target rate isn’t by design but likely an accidental byproduct of the intended design. The Cowboys want to target him a ton but unlike many top teams, Dallas doesn’t have a clear WR2 on their roster.

Brandin Cooks plays the role, but he’s struggled to live up to true No. 2 status since joining Dallas a season ago. There’s hope Jalen Tolbert can take the next step and lock down the WR3 spot, but his gains have been slow, and his snaps have been split up to this point.

The Cowboys don’t have a great secondary option and that’s allowing opponents to focus in on Lamb and force Dak Prescott to spread the ball elsewhere. So, the offense is designed to flow through Lamb but since not enough was done over the offseason to keep defenses honest, the Cowboys’ top-heavy WR corps is getting keyed on.

There’s still a lot of season left and plenty of time for players like Cooks and Tolbert to hit their stride as complementary WRs. Getting Jake Feguson back from injury will help as well since, in many ways, he’s the No. 3 option on offense and a player whose work underneath opens things up for Lamb over the top.

At this point it is just something to monitor. The Cowboys’ offense goes as Lamb goes so Lamb’s slow start somewhat explains Dallas’ 24th ranked offense (EPA) through two weeks.

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