If there is one thing that New Orleans Saints fans weren’t expecting, it would be reuniting with a wide receiver that isn’t named Michael Thomas. That is precisely what happened, though, as the Saints locked down former first-round draft pick Brandin Cooks on a two-year, $13 million deal. Cooks has not been on the Saints since he was traded to the New England Patriots at the end of the 2016 campaign.
If there is one major flaw in the Saints’ offense right now, it is their depth, particularly at the wide receiver position. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are exciting talents, yet each suffered a season-ending injury in 2024. Once those two went down, the entire offense floundered. Marquez Valdes-Scantling did a nice job picking up the slack late in the season, but he is now off to the Seattle Seahawks.
Brandin Cooks provides experience and depth for this team. He has played 11 seasons in the league and is 468 receiving yards away from breaking the 10,000-yard milestone. Given that he has switched to multiple different teams, it’s awe-inspiring that he has accomplished this much. It certainly isn’t easy to keep learning new offenses in the NFL.
Cooks has spent time with the Saints, Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and most recently, the Dallas Cowboys. Through all of that, he became the first NFL player in history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in three straight seasons with three different teams. He also tied Brandon Marshall for the most 1,000-yard seasons with four other teams.
The past couple of years have not been kind to the Saints’ offense, and the organization is hoping to rectify that. Bringing in Kellen Moore as the next head coach of the franchise is hopefully a step in the right direction.
Moore is the youngest coach in the NFL and has just helped the Philadelphia Eagles win a Super Bowl as their Offensive Coordinator. He has had success running multiple different offenses in his short coaching career. He likely has the full support of the organization to make their offense flashier, with the addition of Cooks providing that explosiveness.
Cooks should receive playing time throughout the season, even if both Olave and Shaheed remain healthy for the entire year. Currently, he can quickly fill the number three wideout spot. Of course, this can still change if New Orleans isn’t done adding free agents, or if the team decides to grab a WR in the upcoming NFL Draft. Regardless of that, Cooks should play a role in this new Saints offense behind Kellen Moore.
In all honesty, the Cooks signing might not be the most impactful addition that the team could have made. Despite that, I feel as though this is just a fun move for the fans to get excited about.
There were tons of fans who used to sport Cooks jerseys when he was still on the team, so it’s nice to get an unexpected reunion. It still feels like the team will draft an offensive playmaker in the first round of the upcoming draft, which could push Cooks further down the depth chart.
Considering the injuries that mounted last year for New Orleans, I would much rather have more depth than less of it. There can even be an opportunity for Michael Thomas to reunite with the squad in the near future if the team is feeling nostalgic.
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