DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys refused to stay quiet over the weekend as the NFL free agency period continues, making their second big trade this offseason. This time the offensive side of the ball and quarterback Dak Prescott will enjoy the spoils of the deal.
On Sunday, the Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick this season, as well as a sixth-round pick next year in exchange for wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Cooks isn’t the name that many had been harping on over the past few weeks, but the Cowboys did find themselves a reliable veteran receiver and he comes at a cheaper price than it would’ve taken to trade for WR DeAndre Hopkins or possibly to sign free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Trading Day 3 picks in the draft for Cooks was a smart move for the Cowboys, but the bonus was getting his former team to take on $6 million off the top to reduce his salary. Instead of making over $18 million in 2023, Cook will make $12 million in his first season in Dallas.
After their first attempt to trade for Cooks failed during the middle of the 2022 season, the Cowboys finally got their man, and for much cheaper than the second round pick that the Houston Texans were hoping for last October.
Cooks was the least talked about option, but perhaps he is the best fit for the Cowboys. Dallas desperately needed someone with Cooks’ speed to help open up the rest of the offense.
Last season the receivers struggled to create separation – aside from No. 1 option CeeDee Lamb – which resulted in too many tight-window throws for Prescott. With Cooks now in the fold, there is another WR capable of giving Prescott more room to work with and one who can make big plays in the passing game.
Cooks will be 30 years of age in September, but he has six 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and has played well no matter who’s throwing him the ball. In 2021, despite not having a consistent QB with the Texans, Cooks collected over 1,000 yards and scored six touchdowns. His numbers dipped in 2022 due to some injury issues and playing on one of the worst offenses in the league in Houston.
Nevertheless, Cooks brings his speed, shiftiness, and big play ability to the Cowboys. Among the wideouts currently on the team, Cooks’ 13.7 yards per catch over the course of his career would be second to only Michael Gallup’s 14.3 career average. With Gallup struggling to recover from a torn ACL last year, Cooks immediately becomes the Cowboys’ new downfield threat.
Dallas is banking on there still being plenty of gas left in Cooks’ tank while the cost to acquire him became too good to pass up. Pairing Cooks with Lamb and Gallup should give the offense a significantly improved WR group over the one pieced together last season.
This was the second low-risk, high-reward trade from the Cowboys in less than a week. An organization that does not care for trading away draft capital used it for starting veterans at WR and CB for fifth-round picks. The deals have covered two of the glaring holes on the roster and should allow the Cowboys to draft the best available player when their number is called next month.
Dallas might have traded away two picks, but the team did have three selections in the fifth round due to receiving compensation picks. Now armed with a pick in all seven rounds of the draft, the Cowboys can still fill their roster with young talent.
Cowboys fans have been begging the organization to get aggressive in adding talent and it appears Jerry and Stephen Jones have finally obliged. A year after the team traded away a quality WR, when Amari Cooper was shipped out and the passing game floundered, the Cowboys responded with an about-face trade for a good WR to upgrade the offense. Consider the mea culpa accepted.
The new guy might not be a former Pro Bowler such as Hopkins or Beckham Jr, but trading for Brandin Cooks was exactly the kind of move that the Dallas Cowboys needed to make to improve at wide receiver.
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