The Texans trade for Brandin Cooks is a “flailing response to failure,” Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com writes. In his view, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has a poor assessment of draft pick value – instead of taking on Cooks’ contract and injury woes, the Texans could have simply drafted a wide receiver with the second round pick they forfeited.
On the flipside, Barnwell has heard some theorize that the 2020 season will be especially challenging for rookies, who won’t have the benefit of a typical OTA schedule. Veterans like Cooks are already accustomed to the pace of the game and often pick and choose when it comes to OTA participation anyway. Barnwell doesn’t buy it, because he doesn’t believe the Texans are built to win this year. In 2019, they placed 19th in DVOA, and their divisional round loss to the Chiefs remains fresh in his mind.
Ultimately, if the Texans wanted to win in 2020, their best bet would have been to hold on to DeAndre Hopkins, Barnwell argues. Instead, they’ve effectively swapped Hopkins for Cooks and running back David Johnson.
More on the blockbuster:
- Barnwell feels that the trade made more sense from the Rams perspective, but he’s not letting L.A. off of the hook either. Cooks’ extension, he writes, was a massive mistake by GM Les Snead. And, even though they were able to bail out, they were still stuck paying him a $4MM roster bonus since the deal happened after 3/15. This year, they’ll wear a $21.8MM dead money hit for Cooks; between that and the Gurley deal, they’re stuck with $33MM in dead money this year.
- Cooks’ history with the Patriots undoubtedly played a role in the deal. In addition to O’Brien, he also has a strong relationship with Texans exec Jack Easterby, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter) notes. “Jack Easterby, you think about him and smile because he brings so much positivity within our locker room and our building,” Cooks said earlier this year. “All you can do is respect that and want to follow that lead.”
- A fun fact from Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link): Since August 31, the Texans have traded away 12 players/picks and acquired 15 players/picks. He compiled the full list, which includes Hopkins, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks in the exit column. Meanwhile, they’ve added Cooks, Johnson, tackle Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and eleven more assets that may or may not justify the cost.
you know, i know he has concussion issues, but he still seems to put up pretty strong numbers. seems odd to me that he moves around so much.
when you started with concussion issues I thought at first you were talking about O’Brien
Lol….so did I.
Hahaha me too! Cooks had bad concussion issues last season, spent weeks in Pittsburgh getting looked at after his last concussion
Same
Could you imagine if BOB was in charge of something critical? His decision making process is just so bad. He reminds me of the scene where Michael Scott drives into a lake because the GPS says to make a right.
I’m not a huge fan of Houston and don’t follow the team closely, so maybe I only get the “lowlights” of what he does… but I have to ask those who know more than me, HOW is Bill O’Brien still employed??
He gets them to the playoffs..
You get your team to the dance you’ll get longer chances.
GM BOB and Coach BOB are two different people. One is competent, the other is not.
The problem is that BOB has simply acquired too much power. He’s the de facto GM and executive VP Jack Easterby is just a “yes” man. Thus, the only hope is for president Cal McNair to stand up and relieve BOB of his duties before he can increase the damage. He doesn’t need to be fired as a coach, but he’s clearly in over his head in the front office
Sports reporters are just fanboys with a computer. They have zero clue how to run a team.
Well, the jury’s still out on Mike Mayock with the Raiders, but his start with trading for Antonio Brown wasn’t a great one.
but wasnt that really gruden