Brandin Cooks has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys!
The Dallas Cowboys strengthened their WR corps with Cooks, sending a 2023 fifth-rounder and a 2024 sixth-rounder to Houston.
Dallas was in need of depth behind their star receiver CeeDee Lamb, and most of the notable free agent names, the few there were, are off the market. Drafting a receiver is an option, but Dallas is a team built to win now. Getting a proven commodity in Cooks is just what the doctor ordered.
Now let's dive into the Fantasy Football impacts for both of these teams!
Brandin Cooks Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
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Cowboys Side
Cooks had a down year last season, suffering from an inept Texans offense. Houston averaged just under 200 passing yards per game, and Davis Mills took a step back after a promising rookie season. The Texans are in the middle of a rebuild and Cooks has made it known he wanted out since last season. He finally got his wish.
I'm gonna let our very own Michael Tomlin (@Tomlin3) take it away:
"Some might see Cooks as redundancy with CeeDee Lamb’s skill set. What I say to that is that you have to know Dak Prescott’s extreme limitations in throwing the ball. He is erratic, at best, downfield, and spastic when throwing short dump-offs under pressure. The one time he’s average at least is mid-depth, middle-of-the-field throws, where Cooks thrives."
With McCarthy taking over play-calling, the release of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard coming back from injury, the Cowboys are a sneaky team to lead the league in pass attempts. Cooks is a wily veteran (yet still only 29) and will command 125 targets leading to 1,000+ yards and a half dozen touchdowns."
Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott and Noah Brown are gone, opening up a lot of passing game work in the offense. Tony Pollard may not be ready for the season opener or could get off to a slow start. I like what I saw of Jake Ferguson in his limited work last season, but he's not going to transform into Travis Kelce. CeeDee Lamb is the unquestioned No.1 in the offense, and while he will likely see a dip in targets with Cooks' arrival, I don't expect anything drastic.
Dallas can certainly support two fantasy viable receivers. We've seen them produce three in 2021 (Lamb, Shultz, and Amari Cooper). Cooks slides right into the No.2 role in the passing game. I don't think he lost a step in 2022 and is in for a bounce-back season with a pass-heavy Dallas offense lacking other options at this point. He should continue his usual WR2 type of season for fantasy managers.
Texans Side
Houston is desperately thin at wide receiver. Robert Woods played every single game for the Titans last year and even with the Titans' lack of receiving options he managed more than 60 yards twice. Nico Collins actually outproduced Robert Woods on a per-game basis. I liked what he showed last year but he's not the number-one option in an offense. John Metchie will hopefully be back in 2023 after missing all of his rookie season with leukemia. They also added Noah Brown during free agency, who amassed 43 catches for over 550 yards for the Cowboys last season.
It will be yet another rough year for the Texans' offense. They will have a rookie QB at the helm, and they have some pieces and potential, Dameon Pierce, Collins, Metchie, and Brown but it will take more time and talent to get Houston back into shape.
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