Report: New England Patriots acquire Brandin Cooks from New Orleans Saints
By Adam Stocker
The New England Patriots have reportedly acquired Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for first and third-round picks.
Tom Brady just got a new No. 1 receiver. The New England Patriots have reportedly acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for their first and third-round picks.
TRADE! The Patriots have traded their #32 & 3rd #103 pick to the Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks & their 4th #118 pick per sources
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 11, 2017
The 23-year-old Cooks is entering his fourth NFL season. The Oregon State product caught 78 passes a season ago for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowna. The previous season Cooks caught 84 passes for 1,138 and nine touchdowns.
Cooks enters an already talented New England receiving corps. He gives New England another field-stretching option opposite Chris Hogan. The acquisition of Cooks should open up even more space underneath for Pro Bowl wide receiver Julian Edelman to work with in the slot as well.
However, the receiver who is the biggest benefactor of the trade is Rob Gronkowski. Cooks will attract the attention and the help of opposing safeties over the top which will open up more space for Gronkowski in the middle of the field. Gronkowski will also end up being covered more often by linebackers who are unable to run with him.
If the Patriots were difficult to stop before, it is going to be almost impossible now. If opposing defenses are unable to get to Brady, the Patriots could blow a lot of teams out early.
The Patriots have had a rather busy offseason for a Super Bowl Champion. Earlier in the day, the Patriots acquired Kony Ealy from the Panthers. On the first day of free agency the Patriots signed Buffalo Bills corner Stephone Gilmore.
The New Orleans Saints should be happy with the return they got for Cooks. The Saints have finished 7-9 for the past three seasons and missed the playoffs. The extra draft picks should help them rebuild their poor defense.
New England is scheduled to play the Saints in New Orleans this season, so it will be interesting to see what type of reception Cooks receive. The receiver was popular during his time in Louisiana. However, rumors of him being disgruntled surfaced after the season and was one of the reasons why he was on the trade block.