Texas Flip and Move: The Dynasty Impact of Brandin Cooks in Houston
Well, the Texans are anything but boring. After enduring the wrath of pretty much the entire free world after trading DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals, Houston has traded the 57th overall pick in this month’s NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams for wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth round pick in 2022. The Rams continue to purge themselves of some albatross contracts and the Texans surely hope the addition of Cooks helps smooth over some things in the locker room and with a very anxious fan base. There are a host of players whose dynasty values have been affected by the move. Let’s take a look.
Brandin Cooks, WR HOU
Cooks had a simply awful 2019 that featured just 42 catches for 583 yards and two touchdowns. It was shocking after he posted a nice 80/1,204/5 line in his first season with the Rams, but not as surprising when you consider how awful Jared Goff was at times last season. Cooks also had just one game with more than 72 receiving yards and basically turned into a “one trick pony” as the third receiver behind Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. To make matters worse, he has a storied history of concussions and there was talk his career was in jeopardy last season after he endured yet another one, thought to be at least his fifth in his NFL career. The Texans obviously feel Cooks can help fill the void left by Hopkins. They must also be assured by Cooks that he’s 100% healthy and ready to go. There’s no doubt Cooks needed a fresh start, but it’s also hard to believe a player with his kind of talent will be playing for his fourth team in five seasons, especially considering he’s still just 27 years old.
In Houston, Cooks will find himself with more opportunities than he would have in Los Angeles moving forward, though he’ll have to learn yet another offense, this time likely on the fly. While his game is similar to that of Kenny Stills, the Texans are void of playmakers and will assuredly attempt to maximize the value they have with Cooks. The move will most certainly move the needle upwards for Cooks’ ADP, but I personally have a really hard time buying a player in a dynasty league who has been shuttled around this much and could be one big hit away from a long absence or worse. His ADP of 95 is surely going to rise in the coming weeks. However, I’d be much more of a seller than a buyer at what will now be his current price. The window to buy low on Cooks just evaporated and the window to sell high could be open.
Kenny Stills and Will Fuller, WRs HOU
It’s fair to wonder just which of these two players will be adversely affected by the move. The fact of the matter is Fuller just can’t stay healthy. If he can make it through an entire season, he’d likely put up the best numbers on the team. However, that just seems highly unlikely and while Stills and Cooks are similar, Cooks is also the better player. If all are healthy, you’d expect the value of Stills to be hit the hardest. However, expecting these three receivers to each make it through the season is like expecting Joe Exotic to dress in anything but tiger prints.
Randall Cobb, WR HOU
I originally left Cobb out of this article as it seemed he was going to really be the odd man out. However, it now seems the Texans are considering cutting Stills. If that happens, Cobb would be back on the radar and in what could be more of a three-man receiving corps with Fuller and Cooks. The Texans are paying Cooks and Cobb a combined $18 million in guarantees, which is about what DeAndre Hopkins was wanting in his contract, ironically. I could certainly see the Texans part ways with Stills and that would open the door for Cobb to have a bigger role. However, I believe Cobb is who he is at this point and he just hasn’t been much of a difference maker outside of one good season in Green Bay. He’s more of a roster clogger at the moment, but one with a chance if there’s another injury or another move in the works.
Deshaun Watson, QB HOU
On paper, you have to think this helps Watson. The Texans now have three capable receivers on the roster. While there is some obvious injury risk associated with their receiving corps, Watson desperately needed at least another weapon in the passing game. Houston will most likely address the position further with the upcoming draft, but Watson at least gets a bit of an olive branch here.
Josh Reynolds, WR LAR
The biggest winner in this deal is likely Josh Reynolds. He should slide into the spot vacated by Cooks for the Rams and have a chance to establish himself as a solid dynasty asset. The 21/326/1 line he posted last season isn’t spectacular, but the Rams reportedly are really high on him. The fourth year pro has his best opportunity yet to make an impact and he’s squarely on the dynasty radar. If he’s a free agent in your league, he needs to be scooped up or added to your rookie and free agent draft list as a later round pick. His ADP is surely going to rise now.
Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, WRs LAR
Cooks only had 72 targets last season and you have to figure those are going to be soaked up by Reynolds and the emerging Tyler Higbee. Since Woods and Kupp really worked as the two top receivers last year, their value really shouldn’t change too much.
Jared Goff, QB LAR
There’s a lot of pressure on Goff this season. The Rams found it to be very difficult to pay their quarterback, an elite defensive player in the form of Aaron Donald, a wide receiver and a running back all premium money. They are going to eat a massive $21.8 million after sending away Cooks’ contract and another $5.5 million after they cut Todd Gurley. They have all their eggs in the Goff basket and he simply has to improve on his play from last year, and do it without two of his primary weapons in tow.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
