Elliot Harrison projects a big year for Brandin Cooks
The New Orleans Saints offense lives and dies by what Drew Brees can do. Luckily for them, it always survives, because he has superstar wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
AROUND COVER32
NFL: Ranking the top five interpersonal rivalries
2016 Preview: Comeback player of the year candidates
Twitter Tuesday: Torrey Smith speaks out for public breastfeeding
Fantasy Football: How Goodell set up your draft
The team’s leading receiver from 2015 should get even better in his third year. Then again, the additions of Coby Fleener and Michael Thomas surely bring plenty of weapons to the table for Brees, meaning he may not rely on Cooks so much.
That still didn’t stop NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison from projecting Cooks to have an insanely strong year. He has Cooks topping 1,500 yards in 2016, which would surely make him the best receiver Brees ever had:
“He posted 1,138 yards as a second-year pro last season — and that was with Marques Colston (who has since been released) and Ben Watson (who has since joined the Ravens) taking away targets. Obviously, 1,500 yards is no small benchmark. Only four guys surpassed it last year. Ditto 2014. In 2013, only Josh Gordon pulled it off. But considering Brees’ confidence in Cooks, and with New Orleans bound to participate in track meets again, we are confident in this bold prediction.”
Cooks had 1,138 yards in 2015, so asking him to put up over 400 more with new dangerous weapons may be asking for a bit much. Willie Snead also promises to be one of the team’s top pass-catchers.
For Cooks, if he was the number one receiver on almost any other team, I would see this prediction coming to light. It’s great for Saints fans that an expert like Harrison is optimistic, but I think 1,500 yards is a stretch.
It’s not a knock against Cooks. It’s the fact the Saints have too many weapons. I’d say the same if Julio Jones or Antonio Brown were on the Saints.
The post Elliot Harrison projects a big year for Brandin Cooks appeared first on Cover32.