The Pittsburgh Steelers are in dire need of a wide receiver. They lost three to free agency, and haven't landed any possible replacements as of yet. They figure to be able to do that in the NFL Draft as the wide receiver class is considered to be very deep. Names like Skyy Moore, Garrett Wilson, and Jameson Williams could be early targets for the Steelers.
One name that has been floating around NFL circles as of late is Brandin Cooks. Cooks quietly put up solid numbers in Houston last season with shaky quarterback play and absolutely zero weapons around him. He pulled in 90 receptions for 1,037 yards and 6 touchdowns while starting 16 games. To put those numbers in perspective, the next highest reception total behind Cooks was 33 by Nico Collins. That should tell you just how bad their offense was outside of Cooks.
The Texans are reportedly looking for a 2nd round pick in exchange for Cooks. Interestingly enough, Cooks has already been traded THREE times in his career. Nowadays it's becoming more common for trades to happen in the NFL, but prior to the last 5-6 years, trades weren't something that filled the off-season news. If there was a trade, it would generally be small names that players involved were likely to be released anyway. Every once in awhile, a backup quarterback like Matt Schaub, or Jimmy Garoppolo would get dealt, but not like what we see today.
Cooks Trade History
Trade from Rams to Texans - Cooks and 4th round pick to Texans for a 2nd round pick
Trade from Patriots to Rams - Cooks and 4th round pick to Rams for a 1st round pick
Trade from Saints to Patriots - Cooks and 4th round pick to Patriots for a 1st round pick and 3rd round pick
Patriots Brandin Cooks, right, celebrates after a 4 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter during the game against the Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday in Pittsburgh. PHOTO Joe Sargent / Getty
Cooks has been very productive everywhere he's played. In his 8 NFL seasons, he's surpassed the 1,000 yard receiving mark 6 times, and has over 6 touchdowns in 5 of his 8 seasons.
The speed that Cooks has is what should make him very attractive to the Steelers. While he isn't as fast as he was when he came into the NFL, he's only 28-years old and still has very dynamic speed. Pittsburgh has no one in their wide receiver room that can take the top end off of a defense like Cooks. Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool can both hit a home run, but no one is going to be afraid of their pure speed.
The Texans are still well in the beginning stages of a rebuild, and with Cooks entering the final year of his contract, they are likely looking to get some compensation for him while they can. Cooks would carry a salary of $12.5 million that his new team would have to take on, but it's likely a new contract would be coming to Cooks from his new team.
Cooks Stats vs Steelers
Cooks has faced the Steelers only two times in his career. He has 8 receptions for 83 yards and 1 touchdown.
While the Texans may be only seeking a second round draft choice for Cooks, it's unclear on how much that value will go up with multiple teams reportedly interested in Cooks. With seeing the massive hauls that Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams fetched, it's hard to believe that Cooks' value is only a second round pick. Then again, it's also strange to see a receiver with his ability be traded 3 times before the age of 28.
While adding Cooks would be a solid move for the Steelers, it's very unlikely to happen because of the money he will likely demand on a new contract. The Steelers will probably focus on paying Johnson this off-season and won't be able to afford two high end receivers with the price of receivers soaring through the roof recently.
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