Receiver Brandin Cooks wasn’t happy in New Orleans’ pass-happy offense. How will he do in New England?
That’s one of the biggest questions for the coming months, as he tries to become the first outside receiver to truly thrive in the New England system since Randy Moss. As former Patriots receiver Chad Johnson explained it during a visit to PFT Live at the Super Bowl, the New England offense isn’t conducive to most receivers who line up on the outside.
Malcolm Mitchell did well on the outside as a rookie in 2016, but most of the damage continues to be done from the slot, and by tight ends.
For 2017, barring any players being cut or traded, the Patriots will have Cooks, Mitchell, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, and Dwayne Allen.
So, yeah, if Cooks thought he wasn’t getting the ball often enough in 2016 (when he caught 78 passes for 1,173 yards), we’ll see how he does when his do-your-job job consists in many cases of running deep and drawing the coverage away from Gronkowski, Edelman, etc.