The Dallas Cowboys made a splash this offseason when they acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the Houston Texans. The team was desperate to add another pass catcher behind emerging star CeeDee Lamb and Cooks was who they tabbed as the necessary upgrade.
He will bring another dimension to the Cowboys’ offense with his speed and big play ability. Everywhere he has played throughout his NFL career, his speed has stood out as he is one of the fastest players in the NFL.
“Real speed. Runs the same way every time. I think that’s the most important thing,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “When you have speed like that, for him to be able to do it every play, every route, the start of every route, the cornerbacks, defense, they don’t know what they’re getting. It all looks the same.”
With experience as a No. 1 receiver as well, the Cowboys are making a huge upgrade to their offense. He will help take pressure off of Lamb while being able to provide insurance in case Michael Gallup cannot return to form. Gallup returned last season from a torn ACL and the team is hoping another year removed from the injury can help him return to his former self.
While that is the first thing that people notice, it is not all that Cooks is bringing to the table. Heading into Year 10 of his career, he also has a wealth of knowledge to bestow upon younger teammates. Just watching him at practice is something Lamb and Gallup both said they have picked things up from.
“I’m a visual learner and I’m just watching him as he runs his routes, the way he preps, the way he practices, how he goes about his business. I love each and every part of it,” Lamb said. “I mean, he’s a professional to a ‘T’. My coach told me bringing him in will be the best thing for me and it is.”
Said Gallup, “He tells everybody, ‘When you are you’re done with this, you’re done with that, make sure you stretch. Make sure you do what you’re supposed to do so you can stay in league as long as you possibly can.’ That’s one of the biggest things right now. Football, that’s going to be there. We got in the league for a reason. But he’s over here talking about how you stay in the league.”
Lamb and Gallup are already established players in the NFL, so they are looking to take their games to another level. Someone such as 2022 third-round pick Jalen Tolbert is still looking to get his feet wet in the league.
Tolbert played 89 snaps as a rookie, catching two passes for 12 yards. He could be in line for a larger role in 2023 and offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer partly credits the improvements that Tolbert has made this offseason to Cooks being there.
“What Jalen is going to tell you is he’s spent a ton of time with Brandin,” Schottenheimer said. “So here’s a guy who has been there, done that, and what Brandin wants to do is to encourage and invest in the younger guys, so those guys spend a lot of time together. I see them before practice in the weight room working together. What Brandin brings us is way more than just speed. Absolutely, it’s really fun to watch him run, whether it’s deep routes, short routes. It really doesn’t matter. But what I love is the competitor and the way he’s encouraging that entire room of receivers. It’s been awesome.”
The big plays in the Cowboys offense were down in 2022 and the players who had the longest receptions on the season, Noah Brown and T.Y. Hilton, are no longer on the roster. Having Cooks in the mix will open things up downfield as defenses will have to keep an eye on him or risk him getting behind them for big plays.
