When Brandin Cooks met with the media at OTAs in late May, he spoke for just more than four minutes. After a general question about entering his second season in Dallas, Cooks was asked about the team’s young receivers, Jalen Tolbert, Mike McCarthy’s system, mentoring CeeDee Lamb, Tolbert again and a potential reunion with cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
In the final 30 seconds, Cooks was finally asked about himself, and his role as a player.
“Oh, I’m ready to rock,” Cooks said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m a leader, but at the same time, I’m a playmaker. My mindset, I just look forward to getting the season going and hitting that stride like I know I’m capable of being in this offense. Lead from a teammate standpoint but go out there and make a lot more plays than I did last year.”
Going into training camp, Cooks is one of the Dallas Cowboys’ most underrated players. He won’t make many lists as one of the most important players for the team. As the No. 2 guy on the wide receiver depth chart, he flies under the radar because the No. 1 guy is elite and holding out for a new deal and the No. 3 guy is a mystery box waiting to be opened. Cooks is comfortably in the middle, with a strong NFL resume and a non-diva personality.
The resume and personality combination give Cooks plenty of leeway. The Cowboys are Cooks’ fifth NFL team. He’s one of two players (Brandon Marshall is the other) in NFL history to have a 1,000-plus-yard season for four teams. Last year, Cooks finished with 657 yards receiving, his third-lowest output in his 10 years in the league. Of those 657 yards, 173 came in a midseason blowout win over the New York Giants.
Brandin Cooks totaled eight TD receptions last season for the first time since 2016. (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
Cooks’ game is predicated on speed, which can be a dangerous thing as a player gets older. However, Cooks said last month he still believes he has his trademark speed, despite nearing his 31st birthday in September. Working in OTAs this spring, Cooks still shows the ability to blow past cornerbacks and make plays down the field. That should lead to more excitement for what he can do this season, if it wasn’t the story last season, too.
In his first offseason with the Cowboys in 2023, Cooks showcased his potential in practices. It was easy to get excited about his chemistry with Dak Prescott, who hit the ground running years earlier with another veteran receiver, Amari Cooper. Cooks and Cooper are receivers with different styles, but both are cerebral players who are among the best in the league at what they bring — speed and route running.
When the bright lights came on, things didn’t translate as smoothly as expected for Cooks. Despite a diminished version of Michael Gallup and Lamb at the top of his game — theoretically creating opportunities for Cooks — Cooks didn’t have his first 100-yard game until nine weeks into the season, and it turned out to be his only one.
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It wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Cooks had eight touchdowns, tied for the second most he’s had in his 10 seasons. He was targeted 81 times, second among receivers behind Lamb and third on the team behind Lamb and emerging top tight end Jake Ferguson. Clearly, Prescott trusted Cooks, but just as clearly, the connection was lacking.
In one of the stranger trends to emerge last season, the Cowboys were 11-0 in the regular season when Cooks had at least 20 receiving yards and 0-5 when he had less than 20 (they won the lone game Cooks missed, in Week 2 against the New York Jets). It’s a strange stat because 20 yards receiving doesn’t exactly indicate heavy involvement, but nonetheless, the more Cooks factored in on the field, the better it was for the Cowboys.
It’s important for Cooks to acknowledge the difference between leadership and production. Though the production wavered throughout, Cooks’ leadership did not. He was an asset to Lamb and a strong presence in the locker room. Tolbert has credited Cooks a lot for his development after a tough rookie season. Cooks fielded questions consistently last season about his lack of production but deflected most of them in favor of team success.
As Cooks mentioned, being a leader is great, and important, but the production has to follow. That’s especially true for a guy in the No. 2 receiver role in a passing offense like the Cowboys’. Lamb will get his and Ferguson might be the No. 2 option in the passing game, but maximizing Cooks will be important, especially if the Cowboys are dealt with unfortunate circumstances, such as injuries to top guys or younger guys not developing as expected.
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Cooks is a versatile asset. Last year, 64 percent of his snaps came from the perimeter, according to Pro Football Focus, and 36 percent came from the slot. According to TrueMedia, Cooks ran two routes more than 100 times: 127 go routes and 102 hitches. Fifty times he ran a corner route and 55 times he ran a crosser.
Cooks is capable of doing it all, but the production needs to follow the ability. Last year was not only Cooks’ first in Dallas, but it was also everybody in Dallas’ first year under McCarthy’s offense after years of Kellen Moore. Perhaps that made for growing pains.
This year, Cooks needs to be better, because a better Cooks means a better Cowboys offense.
(Top photo: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
