Thanks to the NFL’s nonsensical rule that blocks draft picks from joining their teams until the conclusion of exams that the draft picks aren’t taking anyway, the Saints didn’t get to see much of first-round receiver Brandin Cooks during offseason workouts.
What little they saw after Oregon State finished for the year was most impressive.
“I called him ‘Lightning,’” cornerback Keenan Lewis said Friday, via Christopher Dabe of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “A [defensive back] might be in his back pocket and the next thing you know he’s 50, 60 yards down the field.”
As Dabe explains it, Lewis experienced that dynamic at practice on Thursday. Cooks took a reverse handoff and ran down the sideline. As Lewis chased Cooks, the rookie slowed a bit to let Lewis think he had a chance to catch the speedster -- and then Cooks took off.
“It’s always an honor to have a guy like that,” Lewis said. “Not just because of the kind of football player he is, but because he’s a good person too.”
Cooks will make up for lost time by getting together with quarterback Drew Brees in San Diego. Cooks will next be toying with NFL defensive backs when the Saints come to West Virginia for training camp.