What else is there to say about the New England Patriots?
After winning their fifth Super Bowl in sixteen seasons and second in three seasons, as always, they are back to business and preparing for the upcoming season. Even after winning the big game, Bill Belichick stated during his press conference that the team was five weeks behind everyone else in their preparation for the 2017 season. There’s his business mindset right there. The Patriots this off-season have been very active and this is something we normally never see as they build the team up in the draft. They’ve been on it as you would expect. They acquired Kony Ealy from the Panthers, signed Stephon Gilmore to add to the secondary, acquired Dwayne Allen from the Colts to not only replace Martellus Bennett but to give the Patriots that tandem at tight end they’ve enjoyed to use over the years. The biggest move they made was acquiring Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints.
I like all the moves the Patriots have made but the Cooks acquisition stands out to me the most. He gives Brady and the offense a true number one receiver, something they haven’t had since the days of Randy Moss. He’s basically the same size as Julian Edelman, but he’s able to do a lot more at the position and he’s by far their most skilled receiver on that roster. Unlike Edelman, Cooks has the ability to stretch the field and take the tops off defenses. He thrives in a wide variety of ways. He’s phenomenal after the catch whether he’s catching the football behind the line of scrimmage or down the field. He also brings great athleticism and could be that deep threat down the field for this offense. Now thinking about it, he may be able to do it for them. He’ll be used in the slot, on the perimeter, over the middle of the field and I can also see him being used in the backfield on screen plays as well. He will bring the versatility factor with him.
20 years from now, Brandin Cooks will be able to tell people he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints and played with one legendary quarterback then, he can turn around and say I also played with the greatest ever to play the position of quarterback. That’s a pretty impressive start to a career if you ask me. This Patriots offense could be a scary one with the weapons they now have. Brady of course, then, there’s Dion Lewis, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Malcolm Mitchell, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and now, you add Cooks to the mix, the Patriots may never run the football again.
