Though an offseason trade sent Brandin Cooks to the New Orleans Saints' Week 2 opponent, the New England Patriots, they haven't forgotten the things the wide receiver can do on the football field.
"We can't let Brandin Cooks get a deep ball," safety Kenny Vaccaro said Wednesday, according to Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune. "You can run your curls, you can run whatever your little route tree is besides the home-run ball, but when you put on the tape, Brandin Cooks is running deep a lot. So, that'll definitely be something that we have to stop."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees holds no resentment toward his former No. 1 target for wanting to be traded this offseason, but hopes Cooks struggles for at least one week.
"Obviously, he was a great part of this team for three years, and I wish him the best of success - although I'd rather him not go off in this game," Brees said.
Cooks' Week 1 statistics make Brees' wish seem unlikely to come true.
He caught just 3-of-7 targeted passes from Tom Brady in the Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but finished his Patriots debut with 88 yards. The Patriots, well aware of what Cooks can offer the team, targeted the receiver repeatedly deep downfield, and he ranked second among all receivers on the week in average targeted air yards, according to NFL.com's Next Gen Stats.
The Saints, meanwhile, allowed Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to average 8.9 completed air yards per pass in Week 1, ranking fourth among quarterbacks. Brady ranked first, with 10.3 yards.
