Philadelphia Eagles: Passing on Brandin Cooks feels beyond short-sighted

After being linked to Brandin Cooks for most of the offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles opting not to trade a second-round pick for his services is a bummer.

Welp, cross another wide receiver off the Philadelphia Eagles‘ wish list – if he was even on it at all.

That’s right, after drawing a ton of interest from fans in the 215, Brandin Cooks has officially found a new home, and unfortunately, it’s in South Philly.

And worst of all the price: For the low, low price of a second-round pick, GM Bill O’Brien landed the 26-year-old speedster AND a 2022 fourth-round pick according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

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What?

…

What?

So you’re telling me the Eagles could have added a somehow-still-only-26-year-old wide receiver who ran a 4.33 40-yard-dash and has amassed 5,730 receiving yards as a pro for the very same pick many believe the team will use to draft K.J. Hamler?

What?

Granted, Cooks will cost substantially more over the remainder of his contract than a second-round pick, as he signed a five-year, $80 million contract in 2018 that still has an outstanding balance of $47 million, but in the modern NFL, that’s a pretty standard price for a starting-caliber wide receiver.

Just for context, the Eagles will be paying Alshon Jeffery a little under $15.5 million in 2020 on a contract that averages out to roughly $13 million a year. Cooks, by contrast, will make $8 million in 2020, $12 million in 2021, $13 million in 2022, and $14 million in 2023. While that’s a ton of money to pay for a receiver who had an admittedly down season in 2019, it’s actually who would you rather have under contract moving forward?

In Cooks, the Eagles could have had their speed receiver of the future; a complete wide receiver with DeSean Jackson‘s speed and Jeremy Maclin‘s route running ability.

Speaking of Jackson, could you even imagine lining up Cooks across from D-Jax, or better yet, in the slot? That’s a ton of speed for an opposing defense to try to stop, and could have allowed Doug Pederson to optimize Carson Wentz‘s arm in the vertical passing game.

The Texans clearly had the same idea, as they now could trot out a starting triplet of sub-4.4 receivers in Cooks, Will Fuller, and Kenny Stills to help Deshaun Watson stress opposing secondaries down the field.

Is the 57th overall pick really that valuable? Is there a cornerback, lineman, or even linebacker Howie Roseman coverts so highly that he’d pass on a potential number one receiver to have a shot at their services? Isn’t a Cooks in the hand worth more than a Hamler in the bush?

*sigh* I digress.

Whether the Philadelphia Eagles wanted to retain draft capital for a potential trade for Yannick Ngakoue, see more value at another position in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, or simply aren’t as high on Brandin Cooks as fans in Philly (or yours truly) is anyone’s guess, but after being linked to the 5-foot-10 wide receiver since his days playing at Oregon State, it’s unfortunate that a potential union is all but certainly out of the cards moving forward – at least until Cooks becomes available via trade in a season or two.