Tag: Brandin Cooks

Cowboys’ Cooks, Kendricks to battle Saints players… in cornhole

From @ToddBrock24f7: Bills and Patriots players will also compete, paired up with American Cornhole League pros in a test of skills to be aired on ESPN2.

Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a man of many talents. The wide receiver known as “The Archer” is a licensed pilot in his spare time but is ready to get back to running routes and catching touchdown passes from Dak Prescott.

Eric Kendricks is the Cowboys’ newest addition, a Pro Bowl and All-Pro linebacker who’s played nine years in the league. He’ll reunite this season with his former coach Mike Zimmer, who is now the defensive coordinator in Dallas.

But first, both will step onto a competition field of a different sort, to take on members of the New Orleans Saints in the American Cornhole League (ACL)’s Superhole Celebrity Series.

Cooks will square off against Saints quarterback Derek Carr, and Kendricks will face New Orleans wide receiver Juwan Johnson in an event to be aired live on ESPN2 this Saturday night. Bills defensive lineman Daquan Jones will also go against Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon, and New England wide receiver Kendrick Bourne will battle Buffalo offensive lineman Dion Dawkins; all NFL stars will be paired with current ACL pros in a bracket that will ultimately crown the Superhole V champion.

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The NFL has been well represented in the ACL’s Celebrity Series in years past. Ex-quarterback Doug Flutie won back-to-back championships in Superhole II and Superhole III in 2021 and 2022.

This weekend’s Superhole Celebrity matches will take place Saturday night in the New Orleans metro area, with tickets available to the public.

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Here’s how the Cowboys 10 WRs impact the 2024 salary cap

A breakdown of the Cowboys wide receiver room’s contracts and impact on the salary cap as the club enters the team building phase. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The Cowboys have 10 wide receivers under contract for 2024 and the new league year hasn’t even begun. To an outsider looking in, it may feel like Dallas does not have much room to add to this position group. A deep dive into contract specifics muddies the waters and calls into question the total amount of money that goes to the group.

Wideout CeeDee Lamb is the unquestioned leader of this group and figures to command a large payday. Behind him, sits a collection of varying degrees of pedigree, skill and experience.  Opportunity lurks just around the corner but trust must be earned by both the coaching staff and the quarterback as well, as evidenced by the volume directed at Lamb.

After checking out both the quarterback room and the running backs, here’s a look at the financial breakdown of all of the wideouts on the Cowboys 2024 roster in February.

Watch: 5 best catches of the Cowboys 2023 season

From CeeDee Lamb to Jake Ferguson, these are the five best catches from the Dallas Cowboys on the 2023 season. | From @BenGrimaldi

The season has been over for a few weeks now for the Dallas Cowboys, and despite the disappointment of how it ended there were plenty of good moments to remember. For the offense, it might have taken a handful of weeks to get going, but the Cowboys wound up the No. 1 scoring team in the league at almost 30 points a game.

A large part of the offensive success was because of the passing game, which ranked third in the league in yards and helped quarterback Dak Prescott lead the NFL in passing touchdowns. There were some big plays and improbable catches to aid in their passing attack. Here are the five best catches for the 2023 season for the Cowboys.

Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 18 free-agent forecast

Check out the top waiver-wire targets for Week 18.

Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.

Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.

Cooking in silence among 3 things learned about Cowboys in Week 17 win

The Cowboys learned about their punt return unit, Brandin Cooks and the trustworthiness of their defense in their Week 17 win over the Lions. | From @ReidDHanson

Every game is a learning opportunity and the Cowboys’ Week 17 performance against Detroit is no exception. Their 20-19 win narrowly avoided an upset at home and officially put Dallas’ two-game losing streak in the rearview mirror.

Over the last month some trends have begun to immerge. The Cowboys of today have taken on a new identity in many ways, and more than a few things have been learned of this playoff-bound franchise. With just one game remaining until the postseason the Cowboys either have to accept where they are as a team or change their approach on the more problematic issues plaguing them.

Cowboys’ Brandin Cooks having successful season despite near-career-low stats

From @ToddBrock24f7: At his current rate, Cooks will max out at around 50 catches and 700 yards. He’s making an impact when the ball is thrown to him, though.

Brandin Cooks was supposed to be the key to fully unlocking a Cowboys passing attack in 2023.

And while quarterback Dak Prescott is having a year worthy of legitimate MVP talk, and fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb has already set personal bests and is within reach of single-season franchise records, the veteran has not seen the same kind of statistical success.

Even with two games to go, Cooks is on track for one of his worst seasons in terms of targets, receptions, and yards. He’s racked up 1,000-yard receiving seasons for four previous teams, but in his first year as a Cowboy, Cooks will be hard-pressed to crack 700. And after notching four previous campaigns of 80 or more catches, his current pace may not get him to 50.

And yet, the 30-year-old has come through in the clutch more often than not. He ranks second on the team in receiving touchdowns- six- and is a constant scoring threat, as he showed last Sunday with a brilliant go-ahead end zone grab in the fourth quarter in Miami.

“You practice it so much, right?” Cooks said afterward of the throw and catch. “You trust one another. Dak was doing his thing, and then trusted me on that throw. And I just wanted to be able to be there and make a play for my team.”

By and large, Cooks has done that all season long. Pro Football Reference tracks something called “Receiving Success Rate,” which defines a successful catch as one which gains at least 40% of the yards required on first down, 60% of the yards required on second down, and converts third and fourth downs.

Using that metric, Cooks has a 58.5% success rate. That’s less than three percentage points off his career best and currently within the league’s top 30. It’s higher than Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta, A.J. Brown, Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, DeVonta Smith, DK Metcalf, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, and Amari Cooper- some of the most reliable chain-movers in today’s NFL.

None of this is to say that Cooks should be stealing targets from Lamb. Lamb is unequivocally having a monster season, and he just happens to rank 16th among all qualified players in Receiving Success Rate.

Cooks is, however, doing exactly what was hired to do when the ball is thrown to him. It could be argued the ball should be thrown to him more. He’s too good- still- to become the offense’s forgotten man.

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But the journeyman has preached patience ever since arriving in Dallas. That’s how he approaches his entire game, not to mention the inevitable lulls in production when the game plan moves away from him.

So the answers he gave this week regarding the Cowboys’ current two-game skid could just as easily stand in as a mantra for now personally weathering a new role in a high-powered offense that is leaving him on the short end of his usual stats.

“You stomach it by learning from it, right? You look deep in, you look at yourself, you look at what you can do better individually, as a group. And you’re not shy about it: you go to practice, and you go to work, and you fix those things. That’s how you stomach it, by learning from it.”

Doing so will put Dallas back in the win column. Hopefully it also adds to the numbers of a veteran and locker room leader who deserves more praise than his modest stats might suggest.

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LOOK: Cowboys continue 1st-half domination with Prescott-Gallup TD

The Cowboys have opened up a commanding lead at the half of their Week 14 showdown.

The Dallas Cowboys had a point to prove entering their Week 14 showdown. Through the first half, they’ve made that point with exclamations. The Cowboys offense scored on all four of their first-half possessions, including a 60-yard field goal by rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey and bookended by two Dak Prescott passing touchdowns.

After stopping the Eagles’ last drive of the first half and forcing them into a made field goal, the Cowboys got the ball back with under two minutes remaining. That proved to be more than enough time for Dak Prescott and company as they marched down the field for their third 75-yard touchdown drive of the game.

The big play was a Prescott deep seam pass to WR Brandin Cooks down to the one-yard line, which they followed up with a one-yard toss to Michael Gallup.

The score prevented the Eagles from having the final points of the half and getting the ball back to start the third quarter. Dallas leads 24-6 with 30 minutes left to go.

Fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em: Week 14

Check out these starts and sits for Week 14 in fantasy football.

After watching a surprisingly decent Thursday night game between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, the focus shifts toward a weekend full of vital decisions for fantasy football lineups.

The majority of bye weeks have passed as only the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders are the only two teams to get the week off. With most leagues finalizing the regular season in Week 14, the start/sit decisions have never been more crucial.

Hopefully, we can help get you into the dance for those trying to make it or help you spoil it for someone else.

Doing start/sit articles can be a little challenging. The players featured on the list below should not be taken as “must starts” or “must sits.” Instead, these are more suggestions on what we believe managers should do with fringe players heading into the weekend. The choice is ultimately up to the manager.

Just because a player is listed as a “start” doesn’t mean he should be put in the lineup over the secure, bona fide studs. Vice versa for the “sits.” If there’s no better option on the waiver wire or the bench, a manager shouldn’t automatically sit the player. That’s why these can be tricky waters to navigate.

Feel free to ask any specific start/sit questions via X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11), or check out our start/bench list for Week 14:

Fantasy football sleepers to play in Week 14

Check out these sleepers to play in fantasy football for Week 14.

In most leagues, Week 14 is the final week of the regular season for fantasy football managers. This is their final time to either make that last push for a playoff spot, secure a first-round bye or play spoiler for a team trying to make it.

Fortunately, the majority of teams have now had their bye weeks. The only two teams on a bye in Week 14 include the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders.

Some managers will opt to go for the safer bet this week, but it’s always a good idea to reach for a ceiling in a must-win game. That’s where the sleepers come in.

Don’t forget to check out The Huddle’s weekly PPR projections and rankings to get a better idea of how we feel about the upcoming week as a whole.

Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 14 free-agent forecast

Check out the top waiver wire targets in fantasy football for Week 14.

Beaten, battered and bruised, the fantasy football world emerges from the ashes as the Week 13 bye-pocalypse is behind us. Now, it’s time to focus on the top waiver wire targets for Week 14.

While we’re not out of the woods yet when it comes to bye weeks, only two teams are getting the week off in Week 14. That would be the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders.

Not only did managers have to deal with six fantasy-relevant teams going through their byes in Week 13, but it also was a slate of games marred by injury. With trade deadlines concluded in the majority of leagues, the waiver wire becomes the most vital tool for fantasy managers over the next month.

We’re also getting to the point of the season in which FAAB isn’t as crucial. Don’t be afraid to spend a bit more on a player who might give your team an edge down the stretch.

We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in Yahoo leagues, using the 75% rostered mark as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11). Your questions and comments are always welcome!

We also will be taking a look at some deeper players to stash and the top streaming options for the upcoming week.

Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.

Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.