Potential Patriots’ trade target was shipped to the Cowboys

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys traded for Brandin Cooks. Cooks could have been a perfect target for the New England Patriots.

This kind of hurts, doesn’t it?  Cooks could have reunited with Bill O’Brien, as the two spent a bit of time together in Houston, but instead, the Texans sent him to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Patriots were somewhat attached to the Brandin Cooks trade rumors, and the fit would have made sense.  Cooks was with the team in 2017 and did have a 1,000 yard season.  He had a 1,000 yard season as recent as 2021 as well.

He’s been in the NFL since 2014 and is still just 29 years old.  In all four of his stops thus far in the NFL, he’s put up at least one 1,000 yard season.

New England still needs to add to their wide receiver room this offseason.  They did sign JuJu Smith-Schuster, and he presents a marginal upgrade over the departed Jakobi Meyers, but that’s all that’s been done with the WR unit.

The team did bring in Mike Gesicki on a one year deal, which I love, but the Pats still have the same problem that they’ve had for a bit now, in that no one on their offensive unit is that true play-maker that can make opposing defenses pin their ears back.

They still don’t have anyone on offense that makes opposing defenses fearful, and Cooks would have been perfect for that role.

Furthermore, the Cowboys hardly had to give up anything to land Cooks.  All that Houston got in return was a 2023 5th round pick and a 2024 6th round pick.

For a team in the Patriots’ situation, that would have been an incredibly easy deal to make.

At this point, the team should turn their attention to some other receivers as they still do need to find someone on that side of the ball to make this offense turn up a notch.