Brandin Cooks

Brandin Tawan Cooks (born September 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon State, where he received All-American recognition in 2013. He was then drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Cooks has also played for the New England Patriots.

Cooks was born in Stockton, California to Worth Cooks Sr. and Andrea Cooks on September 25, 1993. Worth Sr. died of a heart attack when Brandin was six years old and Cooks and his three brothers, Fred, Worth Jr., and Andre, were thereafter raised by their mother. He attended Lincoln High School in Stockton, where he played high school football for the Trojans. As a sophomore, he recorded 29 receptions for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior, he had 46 receptions for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also collecting three interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. As a senior, he had 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cooks was ranked by the Rivals.com recruiting network as the 26th-best wide receiver and the 240th overall prospect in his class. He originally committed to play college football at the UCLA but changed to Oregon State University. In addition to football, Cooks played basketball and ran track in high school.

Cooks played at Oregon State from 2011 to 2013 under head coach Mike Riley. As a true freshman in 2011, he played in all 12 games with three starts. He finished the season with 31 receptions for 391 yards and three touchdowns. He was also a kick returner averaging 22.4 yards a return. As a sophomore in 2012, he had 67 receptions for 1,151 yards and five touchdowns. The combination of Cooks and Markus Wheaton created one of the most dynamic receiving duos in college football and Oregon State history. The two players combined for 158 receptions, 2,395 yards, and 16 touchdowns in the 2012 season.

During his junior year in 2013, he had 128 receptions, 1,730 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns. Cooks's receptions and receiving yards were Pac-12 records. He was held to under 100 yards only four times and exceeded 200 yards in a game twice, against Utah and California. At the end of the season, he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and was a consensus All-American. He was the second Oregon State player to win the Biletnikoff Award, the first being Mike Hass in 2005.

On January 2, 2014, Cooks announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

In addition to football, Cooks ran track at Oregon State. He earned a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash at the 2012 UW Invitational, clocking a personal-best time of 6.81 seconds.

College statistics

Collegiate awards and honors

• Biletnikoff Award (2013)
• Consensus All-American (2013)
• Hawaii Bowl Champion (2013)
• First-team All-Pac-12 (2013)
• All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (2012)
• Pac-12 record for most receiving yards in a single season (2013)
• 1st all-time career receiving touchdowns at Oregon State (24 touchdowns)
• 3rd all-time career receiving yards at Oregon State (3,272 yards)
• 2013 NCAA leader in receiving yards (1,730 yards)
• 2013 Pac-12 leader in receiving touchdowns (16 touchdowns)
• 2013 Pac-12 leader in receptions (128 receptions)
• 2012 Pac-12 leader in yards per reception (17.2 yards)

New Orleans Saints

Cooks was selected by the New Orleans Saints as the 20th overall pick of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft; the Saints traded up from the 27th spot, giving their first and third-round picks to the Arizona Cardinals in return for Arizona's first-round pick, in order to get Cooks.

2014 season: Rookie year

On May 18, 2014, the Saints signed Cooks to a four-year contract worth $8.3 million.

In his first NFL game, Cooks caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown and had one rush for 18 yards in a 37–34 overtime road loss to the Atlanta Falcons. This made Cooks the youngest player, at 20 years and 347 days, to catch a touchdown pass since Reidel Anthony on September 28, 1997, at 20 years and 343 days. During Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers, Cooks recorded six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown along with a four-yard rushing touchdown in the 44-23 road victory. Two weeks later against the San Francisco 49ers, he caught five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 loss. In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cooks had five receptions for 50 yards and a five-yard rush before leaving the eventual 27-10 defeat with an injury. It was later revealed that he broke his thumb, prematurely ending his rookie season.

Cooks finished his rookie season with 53 receptions for 550 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed seven times for 73 yards and a touchdown.

2015 season

Cooks began the 2015 season as the number-one wide receiver for the Saints. Cooks caught for over 100 yards in a game for the first time in his career in the Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, where he had five catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Three weeks later, Cooks caught six passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in a 52-49 victory over the New York Giants. In the next game against the Tennessee Titans, he recorded four receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown in the 34-28 overtime loss. The following week, Cooks had five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns along with an 11-yard rush during a 47-14 loss to the Washington Redskins. During Week 13, he recorded six receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown in a 41-38 loss against the Carolina Panthers. In Weeks 15 and 16 combined, Cooks had 15 catches for 247 yards and two receiving touchdowns against the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Cooks finished his second professional season with 84 catches for 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns, leading the Saints in all of those categories.

2016 season

Before the 2016 season, Cooks was pegged as a breakout candidate by ESPN. He lived up to the pre-season hype when he had six receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns and an 11-yard rush during the season-opening 35–34 loss against the Oakland Raiders. He caught a 98-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to set the Saints' franchise record for the longest play. Cooks, along with Willie Snead IV and rookie Michael Thomas, finished the day with 373 receiving yards combined, the most ever by a New Orleans trio in a loss. During Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers, Cooks had seven passes for 173 yards and an 87 yard touchdown along with a two-yard rush in the 41-38 victory. In the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he recorded seven receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown in the 27-21 loss. The following week, Cooks recorded four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown in a 25-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Two weeks later, he caught three passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in a 25-23 loss to the Denver Broncos. After a Week 12 49-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams, in which he was not targeted for a single pass, Cooks voiced his frustration by saying, "Closed mouths don't get fed." During a Week 15 48-41 road victory against the Arizona Cardinals, he caught seven passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns, one for 65 yards and one for 45 yards. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cooks recorded five receptions for 98 yards in the 31-24 victory.

Cooks finished the 2016 season catching 78 receptions for a then career-high in receiving yards with 1,173 and eight touchdowns. Despite the fact that his targets dropped from 129 in 2015 to 117 in 2016, his 10.0 yards per target ranked sixth among NFL wide receivers.

New England Patriots

On March 10, 2017, the New England Patriots traded their 2017 first-round (used on Ryan Ramczyk) and third-round draft picks (one was originally acquired from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Jamie Collins) to the Saints for Cooks and a 2017 fourth-round draft pick. On April 29, 2017, the Patriots picked up the fifth-year option on Cooks' contract.

On September 7, 2017, Cooks made his Patriots debut against the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Kickoff Game. He had three receptions for 88 yards in the 42–27 loss. During a Week 3 36-33 victory over the Houston Texans, Cooks had five receptions for 131 yards and scored his first two touchdowns as a Patriot, including a 25-yard game winner with 23 seconds left; after the game-winning touchdown he also scored on the ensuing two-point conversion. Two weeks later against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cooks caught five passes for 85 yards in the 19-14 road victory. In the next game, he had six receptions for 93 yards in a 24-17 victory over the New York Jets. The following week, Cooks recorded four receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown in a 23-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. After a Week 9 bye, the Patriots went on the road to face the Denver Broncos. In that game, Cooks caught six passes for 74 yards as the Patriots won by a score of 41-16. In the next game against the Oakland Raiders at Estadio Azteca, he had six receptions for 149 yards and a season long 64-yard touchdown in a 33–8 victory. The following week against the Miami Dolphins, Cooks caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown and had an 11-yard rush in the 35-17 victory. Through Week 12 of the 2017 season, he led all players in receptions of 40+ yards, with six. Three weeks later against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cooks recorded four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 road victory. In the regular-season finale against the Jets, he caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and rushed thrice for eight yards as the Patriots won by a score of 26-6.

Cooks finished his only season with the Patriots with 65 receptions for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 40 yards.

The Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 13-3 record and earned the #1-seed in the AFC. In the Divisional Round against the Tennessee Titans, Cooks caught three passes for 32 yards in the 35–14 victory. In the AFC Championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had six receptions for 100 yards in the 24–20 victory. During Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, he caught a 23-yard reception and had a one-yard rush, but left the game early in the second quarter with a concussion after absorbing a hit from Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins. He was placed on concussion protocol and took no further part in the Super Bowl as the Patriots lost by a score of 41–33.

Los Angeles Rams

On April 3, 2018, the New England Patriots traded Cooks and a fourth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams for a first round pick (used on Isaiah Wynn) and a sixth-round pick. This also reunited him with former Oregon State teammate Sean Mannion. On July 17, 2018, Cooks signed a five-year, $81 million extension with the Rams with $50.5 million guaranteed.

2018 season

In his Rams debut, Cooks caught five passes for 87 yards as the Rams defeated the Oakland Raiders on the road by a score of 33-13 on Monday Night Football. In the next game against the Arizona Cardinals, he had seven receptions for 159 yards in the 34-0 shutout victory. Two weeks later against the Minnesota Vikings, Cooks had seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown along with a 10-yard rush in the 38-31 victory. During Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers, he caught four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown along with a seven-yard rush in the 39-10 road victory. Two weeks later against his former team, the New Orleans Saints, Cooks caught six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown in the 45-35 road loss. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he had another great outing, catching ten passes for 100 yards and rushing for a nine-yard touchdown in a 36-31 victory. During Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cooks caught eight passes for 107 yards in the narrow 54-51 victory. After a Week 12 bye, the Rams went on the road to face the Detroit Lions. He finished the 30-16 road victory with four receptions for 62 yards and eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on the season. In the process, Cooks became the first player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards in three consecutive seasons with three different teams. During the regular-season finale against the 49ers, he caught five passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams won 48-32.

Cooks finished the regular season with 80 receptions for a career-high 1,204 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams finished atop the NFC West and earned the #2-seed for the NFC Playoffs. In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Cooks recorded four catches for 65 yards in a 30-22 victory. In the NFC Championship Game against the Saints, Cooks had seven receptions for 107 yards in a 26-23 overtime road victory to reach Super Bowl LIII. It was his second straight Super Bowl appearance and the Rams faced off against Cooks' former team, the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Cooks caught eight passes for 120 yards but the Rams lost 13-3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history.

2019 season

During Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, Cooks caught three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown in the 27-9 victory. He also rushed once for two yards. In the next game against the Cleveland Browns, Cooks caught eight passes for 112 yards and had an eight-yard rush in the 20-13 road victory. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught six passes for 71 yards as the Rams lost by a score of 55-40. During a Week 5 30-29 road loss against the Seattle Seahawks, Cooks had a 27-yard rush and a 29-yard reception before leaving the game with an injury. Three weeks later against the Cincinnati Bengals in London, he suffered a concussion after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jessie Bates III during the first quarter. The Rams went on to win 24-10 and Cooks missed the next two games due to the concussion. He returned in Week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, he caught two passes for 32 yards and had a one-yard rush in the 45-6 loss. During Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, Cooks caught his second touchdown of the season and finished the 34-31 road loss with four receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown. In the regular-season finale the following week, he caught three passes for 40 yards as the Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 31-24.

Cooks finished the 2019 season with 42 receptions for 583 yards and two touchdowns, all his lowest totals since his rookie season in 2014.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

NFL records

• First player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards in three straight years with three different teams

Saints franchise records

• Longest touchdown reception (98 yards)

Cooks is a Christian. He followed big plays in the 2016 season with a bow-and-arrow motion, referencing a Bible verse in which a boy named Ishmael used his archery skills to survive in the desert after he nearly died there without water.

Cooks married his girlfriend, Briannon Lepman, on July 7, 2018.