Getty Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks breaking away from the Jacksonville Jaguars defense.
The New York Jets need more playmakers on the offensive side of the football.
While their 2021 cast of characters was a vast improvement over 2020, that isn’t exactly saying much.
To maximize the chances of Zach Wilson ascending to franchise quarterback status, they need to keep throwing assets around him. One way they can do that is by trading for a proven weapon this offseason.
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Saving a Player From a Dire Situation
On I’m Just Saying with Brian Mazique, possible Jets trade targets this offseason was brought up on the show and he shared his best fit:
“The guy I have in mind is wide receiver Brandin Cooks of the Houston Texans. He has a bit of a poison pill contract with the high cap number in 2022. He is 28 years old and is coming off of a super productive year. Since 2015 he has only missed four games and he went over 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth time in his career.”
Mazique would add that a player of that caliber could be “instrumental” in the development of a young quarterback. The veteran wideout is entering the last year of his contract which is worth $12.5 million in base salary.
The proposed trade from the show was a third-round pick and he thought that was enough to “pry him away” from the Texans this offseason.
Strangely this wouldn’t be the first time Cooks was traded if a deal came to fruition.
After being selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints he was eventually traded to the New England Patriots in 2017.
Then he was dealt in a separate deal to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. If that weren’t enough he was then traded one more time to the Texans in 2020.
It has been a wild ride for a player that has actually produced a ton, regardless of where he has landed:
- Six of the last seven years have resulted in 1,000 yard receiving campaigns
- 573 receptions
- 7,917 yards
- 46 touchdowns
A Unique Fit in This Offense
The Jets have a few players that can do different things offensively with Corey Davis (contested catches) and Elijah Moore (versatile).
Although what they need to add is a home run hitter. That is exactly what Cooks could provide to this unit.
He has unbelievable speed (ran a 4.33 40 yard dash back at the NFL combine) and brings a veteran savvy. Cooks knows how to get open and can create separation consistently.
Regardless of who has thrown him the football at his different NFL stops, Cooks has found a way to make it work and keeps making plays.
While to some, the potential rental status of his contract could turn some teams away, this could actually be the perfect mercenary for what the Jets need in 2022.
You get a really good player at a discount and you don’t have to wait for him to develop, you know exactly what his role is from day one and he can go out there and execute for you. If and when he balls out, you can talk extension with him next offseason. While on the other side of the coin if he totally flops, then you simply move on.
For a third-round pick, this is 100 percent a deal worth pulling the trigger on.
Not only would Wilson’s deep ball and Cooks’ ability to get deep be a lethal combination, but it could have a nice ripple effect on the rest of the offense. Adding more weapons can only help all of the other players on the roster offensively.
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