Brandin Cooks Scheduled to Visit Jets This Week
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Brandin Cooks had 128 catches for 1,730 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in his Junior season at Oregon State. On Friday, Bryan Fischer of NFL.com reported that Cooks is scheduled to visit the New York Jets this week.
Cooks had a really good collegiate career as a member of the Beavers.
He finished his collegiate career, three seasons, with 226 catches for 3,272 yards and he scored 24 touchdowns. This includes him being receiving the Biletnikoff Award, nation’s top receiver, and being named a first-team All-American and a member of the first-team All-PAC-12, according to NFL.com.
Cooks’ fantastic Junior season has contributed to NFL.com projecting him to be picked within the first two rounds of May’s NFL Draft. NFL.com listed a scouting report from Pro Football Weekly Senior Editor Nolan Nawrocki on Cooks.
"Short, speedy, nifty-footed receiver who was unaffected by the departure of Steelers 2013 third-rounder Markus Wheaton, establishing himself as a playmaker in his own right by leading the nation with 133 yards per contest as a junior. Projects as a useful slot receiver with run-after-catch ability and some utility as an outside receiver.”"
Geno Smith struggled during his rookie season as the Jets’ starting quarterback. Part of the reason why that happened is because of the team’s sub-par receiving corps.
The Jets have upgraded the receiving corps during this offseason by signing Eric Decker. They might be considering adding one more receiver to their receiving corps during the upcoming NFL Draft.
Fischer reported that the Jets have not been shy in hiding their interest in Cooks. This has led to numerous NFL Draft Experts projecting the Jets to select Cooks in the draft; including on NFL.com.
Two of the four Mock Drafts listed on NFL.com has projected the Jets to pick Cook with the 18th-overall pick. Marty Mornhinweg, the Jets’ offensive coordinator, was one of numerous NFL personnel in attendence for Cook’s Pro Day, according to Fischer.
Mornhinweg and the Jets will be able to evaluate Cooks in-person this week. Fischer reported that Cooks is scheduled to visit the Jets, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks this week.
Cooks would be a good fit with the Jets, according to Fischer.
"It makes plenty of sense that the Jets looking for another weapon on offense, and Cooks would be a nice choice with his ability to stretch the field, run fly-sweeps and return kicks.”"
Cooks is not that tall at 5 feet 10 inches, according to NFL.com, but he does have tremendous speed.
During the NFL Combine, he was a top performer at the wide receiver position in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuffle and 60-yard shuffle. He had a 4.33 40-yard dash, 3.81 20-yard shuffle and a 10.72 60-yard shuffle time, according to NFL.com.
An analyst in a NFL.com video said that there are some scouts that have compared Cooks to Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiver Steve Smith during his prime. The analyst said that the two of them are comparable in creating separation with their speed, making tough catches and turning short passes into long gains.
Smith has accumulated 836 catches for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns through 13 seasons. Between 2005 and 2008, Smith had at least 75 catches for 1,000 yards and six touchdowns each season.
The Jets would have made an excellent pick if Cooks can perform similarly to what Smith did during his prime.