Last night, it was announced that the New England Patriots traded WR Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick (136) to the Los Angeles Rams for a first-round pick (23) and a sixth-round pick (198).
Patriots are trading WR Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick to LA Rams for the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick, league sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2018
From the Patriots perspective, this trade makes a lot of sense. Cooks was traded for a first-round pick last season, so they’re basically able to recoup the compensation they gave up. He played a year in New England’s system and a had a productive year. He caught 65 passes for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns.
New England fans expected him to take over games, but it’s clear that he’s not that type of receiver. To use a phrase that I believe I’ve exhausted at this point, he’s good, not great. Cooks is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. After that, it’s no guarantee that he’ll stay. He would likely be looking for a deal with an AAV of $14M-$16M, similar to Sammy Watkins deal with Kansas City. They have similar talent levels, but that price is just too high.
Belichick will always lean towards the side of value unless the player is one of the best in the league at their position. The cap hit of the five wide receivers that are currently expected to make the roster is just over $13M, less than what Cooks may make on the open market.
What’s next for New England? The franchise now has two firsts and two seconds, so they’re set up to make moves. They could trade up to try and acquire a quarterback early in the draft. Going by the draft trade value chart, the 31st and the 23rd could get them up to ninth. It will be a question of who’s available. I’d be surprised if any of the top three are still around, and I’d rather not take Baker Mayfield.
There are plenty of needs for them to address. They could stay and try to get back some of the young talent they’ve missed on in recent drafts. Left tackle and defensive end are two positions they need to go after. Adrian Clayborn is not enough, and they can’t rely on Matt Tobin, Marcus Cannon potentially switching, or the two rookies from last year in Antonio Garcia and Andrew Jelks.
The other idea that’s been tossed around is the potential for a trade for a player. A specific wide receiver from New Jersey could be headed to Foxboro. Odell Beckham Jr. has said that he won’t play unless he gets a new contract. The Giants have come back and stated they aren’t interested in trading him, but there have been reported offers and talks left and right. The price would be high, and you’d have to give him an extension probably upwards of $100M, but I believe OBJ is one of the top 3 WRs in the league right now and is well worth the money. I wouldn’t offer up two first, but a first and a second may be feasible.
Los Angeles has built a solid contender for a Super Bowl. In this off-season alone they’ve added Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, and now Brandin Cooks. Those names would make a star-studded team already, but they already had a rising QB in Jared Goff, last year’s Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley, and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. The team is stacked, but there’s a problem.
A lot of these players will need to be paid soon. Gurley and Peters have fifth-year options next year. Donald and Suh are both free agents next season. That’s a lot of money going to potentially four guys. Lucky for them, a lot of their young talent are on rookie deals. The window for them to win is short, probably only a year or two before they’ll need to take a look at everything when Goff needs to be paid. LA will be one of the top three teams in the NFC this year, competing with Minnesota and Philadelphia for a trip to the Super Bowl.