I have spent so much time railing against the way Brandin Cooks has been used the last few weeks that I thought it was only right that I put down what I know about him and his skillset. Let’s be clear on something though; I am in no way saying I have a better understanding of the X’s and O’s of the NFL than Sean Payton, not by any means. Payton was, and is, a offensive genius when it comes to that part of the game. However, I do think that having no previous ties to ‘my’ system and ‘roles’ within that system combined with having seen almost every snap he played in college that I can provide some useful insights. Not for the coaches (although if you are listening guys… try it out ok?) but for the fans who unlike me didn’t go to ORST and thus aren’t as familiar with this player.
Every player in the league comes in with a skillset, and no matter how much tuning and adapting they do that skillset remains one of the defining parts of their game and the key to their career. Some of it is physical, some mental, some has to do with a guy’s character, and then there is also the ever important ‘fit’ factor. No matter how skilled and talented a player may be if they don’t fit the scheme and the team around them they won’t reach their potential. Before I get into usage and what I think Payton is doing wrong (IMO obviously), let’s look at Cook’s skill set and see what he is as a player.
Weaknesses: let’s get these out of the way now so I can talk about happy things. First of all he is a 5’10” in a league that is progressively moving more and more towards ‘big’ receivers who can play the back shoulder fade and jump balls in the red zone most effectively. In that regard Cooks simply isn’t a top tier player, guys like Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin are the ‘new breed’. As Saints fans have probably noticed by now Cooks has incredible speed and quickness, but as far as being a punt returner is concerned… he is awful. He will almost never fail to catch it, but he also isn’t going to give you much. Guys who are great returners do it not based on ‘skill’ and not just on their measurables, it’s instinct. You either have a feel for how to make that first guy miss and make something out of nothing, or you don’t. At Cooks size there are 3 great examples of players with similar quickness and speed who are excellent returners in Antonio Brown, Percy Harvin, and Golden Tate. Cooks isn’t half the returner any of them are (on the other hand only Brown is even comparable as a receiver Cooks has the potential to be) and he never will be, he simply doesn’t have that instinct.
Strengths: Keenan Lewis dubbed him lightning, we called him Mach 7 at Oregon State… but defenders usually call him a ghost. Case and point, Cooks has the kind of speed and quickness that terrifies opponents. From the second half of the Atlanta game on teams have been sure not to let him get loose and have repeatedly resorted to holds to stop him from getting off. His speed and hands scare teams that much. Honestly it’s the latter part that is so impressive; I tried to tell people before he was drafted (couldn’t be happier I was right) that his hands are his best attribute. He has already made some incredible catches he had no right making, exactly the kind of ‘make a play’ moments you want from your first round pick. Cooks also has a very good vertical and repeatedly showed at Oregon State that he can go up and get it even with his size (part of the Steve Smith comparison). We have seen the speed flash and I can count off the top of my head a dozen times this year where he beat his man deep and Drew either didn’t go to him or didn’t have the time/opportunity to. If you go back and look he has blown by people a number of times and its only a matter of time till he roasts someone. How will he do that though? By best utilizing what I think is the biggest reason the Saints moved up to get him and the key to using him correctly…his routes. Brandin Cooks wasn’t just the fastest receiver in the draft, he was the most skilled. It is incredibly rare for a player with Cooks talent to come out of college with such a complete route tree, and rarer still to have Cooks well documented work ethic and football acumen. This kid can not only flat out blow by someone, but we have already seen him work the intermediate routes as well as anyone on the roster has during the Payton era (more on that in a sec).
What then is the issue? Why is his YPC so low, why haven’t we seen more explosive plays (really only that first one against ATL), and what can be done to best take advantage of his skill set? A big part of it is usage. The only guy SP thinks he has had in his offense before with similar ability to Cooks is Sproles, so he has used him in similar ways a lot. The problem is Sproles IS one of those ‘punt return’ guys who just have a knack for making something out of nothing. Cooks never has been and never will be, and the longer he is in any kind of Sproles role the more his production will be capped.
Using him best: Cooks isn’t a big screen runner; he didn’t run them a lot in college, and they weren’t ever his specialty. They were a change of pace option that would be used every now and then just to scare the defense. Mike Riley learned early on that it’s not his gift and it was more beneficial to the team to accentuate what he did well than to use him like past play-makers (‘Quizz Rodgers and his brother James at ORST). Brandin runs every route in the book and runs them well, and with his hands and body control he can (and will) catch just about anything so the coaches need to use that as a weapon. Do what he did in the past and attack with him everywhere, and also give him a chance to make a play sometimes. He isn’t like Meachem who needs a pass to land gracefully into his fingers to have a 50/50 chance of catching a bomb (to be fair he also isn’t a great run blocker so each has their own gifts). I think Payton’s biggest error with him to this point is putting him in a ‘role’..whereas his skill set demands him to play ‘roles’, plural. For Saints fans to understand what his total skill set is like, think of it like this: give SP and Drew a player who has the hands and route running ability of Lance Moore, straight line speed of Devery Henderson (not the same, but similar although Devery is bigger), the intelligence and short area quickness of a Wes Welker, and the feistiness of a Steve Smith. He isn’t Darren, nobody can be him, but he can be much, much, better if given the chance to use his full skill set. Let him beat them inside, play him and Stills in tandem, and let him blow the top off the defense, and sometimes…give him a chance to make the QB look good in a 1-on-1 with the CB because Cooks will fight for that ball and come down with it. I cringe every time I see him run a screen because I know he is going to fail at it, let him do what he does best and use his skill as a receiver which is almost unparralled for a rookie and he will satisfy us all. He can be a possession receiver, can move the chains, can blow the top off, can run screens and end-around plays every now and then, has great hands, crisp routes, and most importantly of all he has the desire and the dedication to become great. He just needs the opportunity (with the Caveat that his QB needs the chance to take advantage of his abilities as well of course).
I will admit to being biased, but I have seen enough on film to warrant making this case. He needs to be used properly to live up to his draft position, and if he is…well then Motown better get ready to experience a SONIC BOOM!!!
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