New England Patriots: Trading for Brandin Cooks named best offseason move
By Nick Ziegler
Recently NFL Nation named the best offseason move for all 32 teams including front office and coaching changes. What was the best move for the New England Patriots?
After winning their fifth Super Bowl, the New England Patriots have had an excellent offseason. Whether it was trades, free agency, or the NFL Draft, the Patriots have received high marks for their efforts.
With multiple good moves this offseason, picking one that stands out is hard. However, one stands out above the rest. For the Patriots, Mike Reiss points out that the trade that brought Brandin Cooks to New England was their best move of the offseason. Here’s what he had to say.
"Acquired from the New Orleans Saints along with a fourth-round pick in exchange for first- and third-round selections, Cooks brings youth (he’s 23), speed, the ability to beat man coverage, and dynamic playmaking ability to a Tom Brady-led offense that showed some deficiencies in the first half of Super Bowl LI. Owner Robert Kraft is on record as saying Cooks is the only receiver the team has acquired in his tenure with the potential to make as big of an impact was Randy Moss. — Mike Reiss"
In three seasons, Cooks has been able to total over 1,000 receiving yards in two of them. Playing with Drew Brees has been able to help the development of Cooks, as he has quickly emerged as one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL.
Now, Cooks will be joining forces with Tom Brady. At just 23-years-old, Cooks is just beginning to reach his potential. While trading a first round pick for him might seem steep, the Patriots likely wouldn’t have drafted a Pro Bowl-caliber player with the 32nd pick.
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Even though the Patriots had a good offense in 2016, they will have one of the best heading into the 2017 season. With Rob Gronkowski healthy, Julian Edelman, and Cooks, stopping the Patriots’ passing attack is going to be a tall task.