The New England Patriots have sent their fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for L.A’s 2018 first and sixth-round draft picks.
After this trade, the Patriots will now have two first-round picks (23rd and 31st overall) and two second-round picks, giving them a prime opportunity to move up in this year’s draft if they choose to do so or just sit back and use all those picks.
Although the Rams had shown interest in pursuing New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., they instead decided to go after Cooks who has been shipped to L.A after a one-season stint with the Patriots that didn’t pan out.
Cooks, drafted by the Saints in 2014, did make some key plays for the Patriots last year, but his addition was clearly not what the team had hoped. After considering their options the Patriots apparently opted not to give Cooks a long contract and decided instead to ship him to Los Angeles.
In Cooks, the Rams get the wide receiver that they needed to help them replace Sammy Watkins, who left via free agency to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams organization are hoping Cooks can become the deep threat that they need in Sean McVay’s offense and a go-to-guy for quarterback Jared Goff.
Cooks is a speedy guy that can stretch the field and has the potential to help Goff’s numbers and become another important piece to surround running back Todd Gurley with. After all, Cooks is a very dynamic receiver that did prove last year with the Patriots that he can be a downfield threat and make crucial plays.
Although the Philadelphia Eagles are still the early favorites to come out of the NFC and contend for the Super Bowl once again, after this trade the Rams are now among the top teams that can contend with them.
In this offseason, the Rams have also added defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and have to be seriously considered as a threat to at least make it to the NFC Championship game and fight the Eagles for the right to play in the Super Bowl.
