Over the past few weeks, I have found many discounts on veteran players as the “Rookie Fever” is taking over the fantasy community. Yes rookies have untapped potential that could be extraordinary. Could we not argue that most of us would rather have guaranteed production though? This guaranteed production is Brandin Cooks, who is one of the most undervalued players in fantasy football. Let’s dive in and show you why!
Brandin Cooks Profile
Brandin Cooks is currently only 27 years old, this may feel like a lie but really its true. To add to this he had a great profile coming out of college. Cooks had a 4.33 40 yard dash which landed him in the 99th percentile, given him the coveted elite speed. His 10.57 agility score also landed in the 99th percentile, this shows us he is not just a straight line speed guy. Below is the rest of his metrics via Player Profiler.
Not only did he test out well he had great production at the collegiate level. While at Oregon State he would produce two back to back 1000 yard seasons. Along with that he would also find the end zone 26 total times over his three year career. In his draft year of 2013 he led the PAC-12 in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He was a true matchup nightmare, and the NFL knew it as he was selected 20th overall by the New Orleans Saints.
NFL Production
Brandin Cooks would play three years in New Orleans, in this time frame he established himself as a quality NFL receiver. He would produce back to back 1000 yard seasons in years two and three. While adding 17 touchdowns over that span as well. He would score a 98 yard touchdown which is still his career high today. Aside from that he carried a 13.3 yards per reception average over his three years in New Orleans. Proving he had big play ability at the NFL level.
In the offseason of 2016 Cooks was sent off to New England. He would continue to be a model of constancy there as well, he produced another 1000 yard season along with 7 touchdowns. However his stay in New England was over as quickly as it started. As he moved on to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 via free agency. In year one he would produce his career high of 1204 yards, yes in fact another 1000 plus yard season. In year two however he had a down year where he only produced 583 yards and was dealing with some injuries. This and the cap situation the Rams were in forced a trade to the Houston Texans.
This past season in Houston he produced 1150 yards and 6 touchdowns. All while averaging 14.2 yards per catch. Cooks still has all the juice in the tank and has proven he can produce 1000 yard season like no one else. Over his 7 year career he has five 1000 yard seasons!
Fantasy career
As we have seen above Cooks has been a great NFL asset. However did this translate to fantasy success? The answer is a simple yes. Below is a chart showing his PPR finishes over his seven year career.
| Year | Points | Games | Average | WR |
| 2014 | 139.3 | 10 | 13.9 | WR56 |
| 2015 | 253.6 | 16 | 15.9 | WR13 |
| 2016 | 246.3 | 15 | 16.4 | WR10 |
| 2017 | 221.2 | 16 | 13.8 | WR15 |
| 2018 | 243.2 | 15 | 16.2 | WR13 |
| 2019 | 117.5 | 14 | 8.4 | WR62 |
| 2020 | 232 | 15 | 15.5 | WR17 |
As we can see Cooks has finished as a high end WR2 or better in five of his seven years in the NFL. There are few wide receivers out there that you can acquire for a late first or early second that have this career production profile. His narrative of injury prone is far from true. Yes he struggled with some concussion issues at times in his career but he has never missed a ton of time at once. Cooks has only played two full seasons however in three of the others he played in 15 of 16 games. Missing one game a year is not injury prone in my book.
Conclusion
Brandin Cooks has proven he can produce on an NFL level and in a way it helps us as fantasy mangers. If you are in need of wide receiver depth on your fantasy teams start kicking the tires on Cooks. At the moment his value is around a late first to mid second. With the rookie hype a late second on draft day may get the deal done.
He still has two to three years of solid fantasy production left. If I am a contender in any format I would be looking to acquire Cooks. He is the cheapest WR2 with WR1 upside you could add currently. This season he will have a very good chance to finish top 12 wide receiver. Cooks currently sits a top a week depth chart in Houston and is inline for a ton of targets. Over the years he has proven he is fairly quarterback proof. So I am not worried about the Watson issues and who the quarterback will be. So go get yourselves some Cooks shares and thank me later!
