It seems as if every time you get a bleacher report notification or you turn on the NFL Network, the Los Angeles Rams are in the news once again especially after all of the moves they have made this off-season. To bolster up their secondary, they first acquired Marcus Peters from the Kansas City Chiefs and a few weeks later, they make a deal with the Denver Broncos to acquire Aqib Talib and reunite him with Wade Phillips who was once his defensive coordinator in Denver. Just last week, they signed Ndamukong Suh to a one-year deal to pair him up with the reigning defensive player of the year in Aaron Donald to give them a nightmare for offensive lines to defend. The Rams have done it again and they’ve made another trade to add to their roster and acquired Brandin Cooks from the New England Patriots for the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Around this time last season, Brandin was just getting settled in Massachusetts after an off-season trade that saw the Saints send their top receiver to the Patriots and I raved about the move because it finally gave the Patriots a true number one receiver for the first time since the days of Randy Moss. Now, the Rams have a dynamic playmaker to their offense and this will now give Jared Goff a true downfield target. He’s a smaller receiver at only 5’11, but he can do everything that any other wide receiver can do. He’s excellent when it comes to stretching the field from a vertical standpoint. He catches everything thrown in his direction and he moves exceptionally well after the catch which is always important as a receiver. He can go over the middle on the slant route, he can run the deep route down the field and no matter how many guys he has surrounding him in coverage, he finds a way to come down with the football. He seems to be at his best when he allows himself to get open on a deep route and his quarterback finds him. We saw him do this in New Orleans with Drew Brees and in Foxboro with Tom Brady as a member of the Patriots. He’s a true number one wide receiver that brings another dynamic to the offense.
I think it’s safe to say the Rams have definitely won the off-season with all of the moves they made. With the step that Goff took last year and Gurley having the season he did that made him an MVP candidate, adding Cooks to the mix gives them a wide receiver that’s able to do it all and bring some consistency to the mix. I expect the Rams offense to still be one of the top five units in the league.
