There was a great sadness in New Orleans when the Saints lost Daren Sproles. He was a much loved member of the team. However, playing in the NFL is like that sometimes. You never know where you might end up. But who would be able to take Darren’s place in the Saints lineup?
It now appears that Sean Payton and the Saints staff had it all worked out before the NFL Draft took place. They had spotted their guy and arranged to trade up in the draft order to be able to obtain him. The object of their search was a little known prospect from Oregon State named Brandin Cooks, and, once again, Payton and company proved themselves to be amongst the wiliest practitioners of their trade.
While all eyes were on Sammy Watkins going to Buffalo, Cooks slipped into New Orleans without much fanfare. Then he started out immediately to show the world that his being drafted by the Saints was no fluke. First of all, he is quick. Very quick. But there is more.
Brandin Cooks has brought to New Orleans a wideout receiver with almost blinding speed and an acceleration off the ball which may well challenge anyone else in the NFL. Fans and coaches watching him practice for the first time mostly have like reactions, ‘that’s the fastest I’ve ever seen anyone move in a football uniform”.
None other than Drew Brees jumped on the Cooks bandwagon during the first week saying, “Here’s a guy who’s obviously extremely talented. But more so than that, very intelligent. You get this feeling that he wants to be great, he loves football, he wants to learn. Every time he comes up to me, its eyes wide.”
Brandin Cooks came to camp ready to take on the NFL and all that it has to offer. He absorbs information very quickly and applies it at once to his game. Rare in a first year player when most of them are still trying to make the transition to the pros.
Long time pro Ben Watson told the press, “When you see a guy catch a pass and you see his first two steps look like he’s about to run a 40 yard dash, you know that the guy is quick and fast. And when you get the ball to him and he learns what to do, there might be problems for opposing defenses. And that’s what we all saw from the first pass he caught.”
