Although Brandin Cooks has been out most of the season, his presence made a huge difference in the win against the Giants on Thursday, November 28, 2024. His touchdown helped put the Cowboys up and keep them there. In a game where CeeDee Lamb missed a majority of his perfectly thrown passes, Cooks is key for the Cowboys offense to get it moving.
How Brandin Cooks Makes a Difference on the Cowboys Offense
Cooks Isn’t the Best Wide Receiver
In the game against the Giants, Cooks went three of seven for receptions. He also didn’t move the ball much, getting a total of 16 yards. However, what Cooks has is the ability to connect in the endzone. Earlier in the season, he showed that with his only other touchdown against the Browns. This isn’t always present in the game due to the struggle for separation that the receivers constantly have. But, when the attempt has been made, Cooks gets the ball.
Against the Giants, CeeDee Lamb was having a tough time completing passes. Whether that was due to his continued back issue or whether his mind was on the Thanksgiving turkey, the Cowboys needed receivers to step up in those moments. Realistically, the Cowboys wide receivers have failed to do that. Lamb is trusted to be the guy, and when he isn’t, there’s no one else. Fresh off of his leg infection, Cooks proves that when Lamb isn’t the guy, he still can be.
The Lack of Depth at Wide Receiver
The recent trade for Jonathan Mingo hasn’t exactly been fruitful for this Cowboys team. Most of that will get blamed on the fact that Mingo is still learning the playbook. However, when Mingo is open, he often fails to come up with the ball. Against the Giants, Mingo went one of four. One or two of those were contested passes, but the others were catchable, and Mingo didn’t come away with them.
The same can be said about guys like Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks. Although Tolbert gets the receiving yards, looking closely, there’s a lack of effort. He isn’t going in full on plays where he doesn’t think he’s getting the ball. This has caused some obvious misconnections on big plays. Even Kavontae Turpin hadn’t come down with as many completions until recently. When the game is on the line especially, is when Turpin struggles the most.
Cooks is the oldest wide receiver in the room. Next in that chain is Lamb, then Tolbert and Turpin have both been in the league for three years. Again, a very young room of guys that need that senior player.
The Cowboys Need a Receiver Like Cooks
Brandin Cooks’ contract expires at the end of this season. If the Cowboys choose to let him go due to lack of production, the hope would be that they trade for another wide receiver with his talent or higher. Letting him go and expecting a draft pick wide out to bring the same kind of consistency hasn’t worked out in the past. Nonetheless, it’s just the kind of thing Jerry Jones and the staff would try to do. But they shouldn’t be surprised when it doesn’t work out as planned.
Main Image: Chris Jones – USA Today Sports
