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Brandin Cooks to Rams for a 1st: blockbuster
- Thread starter NERamsFan
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Big Game
Living The Dream
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True i shouldn't say your wrong. But the difference is we will have the money to spend on Cooks next season where now we didn't have the money to spend on Watkins.
Big Game
Living The Dream
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true but from what the Rams have stated they have Donalds deal in the works already and i'm sure his deal won't kill the cap.
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So the Patriots tried to extend Cooks this offseason and when that didn't happen suddenly they decided he wasn't a good fit and that Tom Brady didn't like him so they shipped him off. Yeah, ok lol.
I think McVay's likability and charm along with Snead's connections and fearlessness to pull triggers has created a really interesting GM/coach dynamic that will be fun to watch over the years. They are out there talking deals and getting shit done. I love it. Still need to see Cook extended for this trade to be a really good one but god damn it's fun to watch.
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you mean as highest paid defensive player ever ... i dont feel its gonna be south of 20 mil a year ....and im no cap guy and dont get the numbers ... but its not just Donald .. its Goff Gurley Peters etc that have to be signed too
..and whilst im sure AD could play defense all by himself .. he is going to need some half talented help out there in the next few years or our 20 mill a year HOFer is gonna have some fruitles years because teams are trip[le teaming him at the line
dang
Legend
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- Mar 15, 2018
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Cooks is the receiver they thought they had when they drafted Tavon Austin. Not as dynamic as OBJ but probably a better long term fit for the needed role for appropriate $$$$. Now all the Rams need is to tighten up our TEs for red zone middle of field presence.
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- Peter
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...enty-of-cap-space-in-2019-and-theyll-need-it/
Rams have plenty of cap space in 2019, and they’ll need it
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 4, 2018
The Rams are building a team designed to go for broke in 2018, with the offseason acquisitions of players like Brandin Cooks, Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. But can they afford to keep all of those players in 2019?
The good news is, the Rams are in great salary cap shape for 2019: According to Spotrac.com, the Rams have $81 million in 2019 cap space, the second-most of any team in the NFL.
The bad news is, the Rams are going to need every penny of that cap space in 2019 to keep their top players in Los Angeles.
The top priority will be defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is heading into the final season of his contract. He’ll want a new deal that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, and he’s certain to have a big cap hit in 2019.
Cooks is also going into the final year of his contract. You don’t trade a first-round draft pick for a player just to let him walk away after one year, so the Rams will surely work on getting Cooks done, with a pricey deal that will chip away at that 2019 cap space.
Suh is on a one-year deal. With all the Rams’ cap space, perhaps they can afford to sign him to another deal next year, but that cap space will dry up once they start getting deals done with Donald, Cooks and other players. There’s a good chance Suh will head elsewhere in a year.
Talib still has two more years on his contract, but he’s 32 years old and may no longer be worth his $11 million base salary. There’s a reason the Broncos made it known they were looking to trade Talib and could only get a fifth-round draft pick for him in return: He’s old and expensive. He’s a player you acquire to win now, but not a player you build around.
Peters, as the Chiefs’ 2015 first-round draft pick, has an affordable salary of $1.7 million this year. But that salary will skyrocket to $9.5 million when the Rams pick up his fifth-year option for 2019. Ditto for the Rams’ own 2015 first-round pick, Todd Gurley, who whose salary likewise skyrockets from $2.3 million this year to $9.6 million next year.
Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner is on the franchise tag this year, which means he’s not under contract in 2019, which means the Rams are either going to lose him or pay him a whole lot of money a year from now.
And one other position the Rams need to be thinking about is left tackle, where last year’s acquisition of Andrew Whitworth was a great move in the short term but not a solution in the long term. Whitworth will turn 37 this year and realistically won’t be around much longer. Left tackles are expensive, and the Rams will need to go shopping for a new one to protect Jared Goff sooner rather than later.
All of these old and/or expensive players can’t be replaced easily in the draft because the Rams have traded away so many picks: They sent their first-round pick to New England for Cooks, their second-round pick to Buffalo for Sammy Watkins, their fourth-round pick this year and second-round pick next year to Kansas City for Peters, their fifth-round pick to Denver for Talib and their seventh-round pick to Washington for Derek Carrier. The Rams have added some draft picks in trades as well, but those are late in the draft: The Rams’ first draft pick is 87th overall, and that’s their only pick in the Top 130.
So it’s fun to watch the Rams go all-in for 2018. But this whole thing could go south quickly. Adding players in the last years of their contracts and trading away high draft picks is a good way to fall off a cliff in 2019.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/04/04/rams-embrace-business-realities-of-l-a/
Rams embrace business realities of L.A.
Posted by Mike Florio on April 4, 2018
The so-called Fight for L.A. could end up being a second-round TKO.
The Rams and Chargers share the Los Angeles market. Soon, they’ll share a stadium. As a result, the competition for fans (and the dollars they carry around in their pockets) is real, no matter how much either team may try to downplay it.
And the Rams are winning, decisively for now. As one league source explained it on Tuesday night, the Rams realize they need star power to attract crowds. By building a solid nucleus of young talent from 2013 through 2017 (Aaron Donald, Lamarcus Joyner, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp), the Rams have now shifted to veteran mode, adding players with sizzle who will help sell suites, premium seats, and PSLs at a $5 billion stadium in Inglewood.
Even though the stadium won’t open for two more years, the effort to get financial commitments is ongoing, and the Rams surely are in better position than the Chargers to fill the place up. If you were choosing right now whether to commit to purchasing the ability to purchase season tickets, year-in and year-out, for one of the two L.A. teams, which one would it be? And would you even have to think about it?
The Chargers, meanwhile, have yet to embrace the concept of paying/trading for stars, opting for the more conventional means of constructing an NFL roster. And, in turn, relying on winning as the means to lure fans to the new stadium.
At some point, the Chargers will have to adjust that approach, if they truly hope to compete with the Rams in the L.A. Even though the Chargers’ approach could result in the development of a better team, that approach doesn’t work in Los Angeles. The Rams have figured that out, collecting star players and creating the kind of “what will they do next?” vibe that always plays well in Hollywood.
Rams have plenty of cap space in 2019, and they’ll need it
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 4, 2018
The Rams are building a team designed to go for broke in 2018, with the offseason acquisitions of players like Brandin Cooks, Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. But can they afford to keep all of those players in 2019?
The good news is, the Rams are in great salary cap shape for 2019: According to Spotrac.com, the Rams have $81 million in 2019 cap space, the second-most of any team in the NFL.
The bad news is, the Rams are going to need every penny of that cap space in 2019 to keep their top players in Los Angeles.
The top priority will be defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who is heading into the final season of his contract. He’ll want a new deal that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, and he’s certain to have a big cap hit in 2019.
Cooks is also going into the final year of his contract. You don’t trade a first-round draft pick for a player just to let him walk away after one year, so the Rams will surely work on getting Cooks done, with a pricey deal that will chip away at that 2019 cap space.
Suh is on a one-year deal. With all the Rams’ cap space, perhaps they can afford to sign him to another deal next year, but that cap space will dry up once they start getting deals done with Donald, Cooks and other players. There’s a good chance Suh will head elsewhere in a year.
Talib still has two more years on his contract, but he’s 32 years old and may no longer be worth his $11 million base salary. There’s a reason the Broncos made it known they were looking to trade Talib and could only get a fifth-round draft pick for him in return: He’s old and expensive. He’s a player you acquire to win now, but not a player you build around.
Peters, as the Chiefs’ 2015 first-round draft pick, has an affordable salary of $1.7 million this year. But that salary will skyrocket to $9.5 million when the Rams pick up his fifth-year option for 2019. Ditto for the Rams’ own 2015 first-round pick, Todd Gurley, who whose salary likewise skyrockets from $2.3 million this year to $9.6 million next year.
Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner is on the franchise tag this year, which means he’s not under contract in 2019, which means the Rams are either going to lose him or pay him a whole lot of money a year from now.
And one other position the Rams need to be thinking about is left tackle, where last year’s acquisition of Andrew Whitworth was a great move in the short term but not a solution in the long term. Whitworth will turn 37 this year and realistically won’t be around much longer. Left tackles are expensive, and the Rams will need to go shopping for a new one to protect Jared Goff sooner rather than later.
All of these old and/or expensive players can’t be replaced easily in the draft because the Rams have traded away so many picks: They sent their first-round pick to New England for Cooks, their second-round pick to Buffalo for Sammy Watkins, their fourth-round pick this year and second-round pick next year to Kansas City for Peters, their fifth-round pick to Denver for Talib and their seventh-round pick to Washington for Derek Carrier. The Rams have added some draft picks in trades as well, but those are late in the draft: The Rams’ first draft pick is 87th overall, and that’s their only pick in the Top 130.
So it’s fun to watch the Rams go all-in for 2018. But this whole thing could go south quickly. Adding players in the last years of their contracts and trading away high draft picks is a good way to fall off a cliff in 2019.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/04/04/rams-embrace-business-realities-of-l-a/
Rams embrace business realities of L.A.
Posted by Mike Florio on April 4, 2018
The so-called Fight for L.A. could end up being a second-round TKO.
The Rams and Chargers share the Los Angeles market. Soon, they’ll share a stadium. As a result, the competition for fans (and the dollars they carry around in their pockets) is real, no matter how much either team may try to downplay it.
And the Rams are winning, decisively for now. As one league source explained it on Tuesday night, the Rams realize they need star power to attract crowds. By building a solid nucleus of young talent from 2013 through 2017 (Aaron Donald, Lamarcus Joyner, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp), the Rams have now shifted to veteran mode, adding players with sizzle who will help sell suites, premium seats, and PSLs at a $5 billion stadium in Inglewood.
Even though the stadium won’t open for two more years, the effort to get financial commitments is ongoing, and the Rams surely are in better position than the Chargers to fill the place up. If you were choosing right now whether to commit to purchasing the ability to purchase season tickets, year-in and year-out, for one of the two L.A. teams, which one would it be? And would you even have to think about it?
The Chargers, meanwhile, have yet to embrace the concept of paying/trading for stars, opting for the more conventional means of constructing an NFL roster. And, in turn, relying on winning as the means to lure fans to the new stadium.
At some point, the Chargers will have to adjust that approach, if they truly hope to compete with the Rams in the L.A. Even though the Chargers’ approach could result in the development of a better team, that approach doesn’t work in Los Angeles. The Rams have figured that out, collecting star players and creating the kind of “what will they do next?” vibe that always plays well in Hollywood.
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https://www.si.com/2018/04/04/brandin-cooks-trade-rams-patriots-mmqb-peter-king
Brandin Cooks Trade: The Domino Effect on the Rams, Patriots, Giants, 2018 Draft
By PETER KING
The difference-maker in the Patriots’ trade of Brandin Cooks to the Rams on Tuesday? I’m told the deal, which had been discussed several times since the end of the season, got rekindled when Sean McVay and Bill Belichick talked at the University of Georgia football coaches clinic late last week.
I hear the Rams had their first-round pick on the table, but it was the ancillary picks that needed to be reconfigured for the deal to finally get done; the Rams wanted better than a fourth-rounder in return from New England, and the Patriots stuck to their guns on their proposed compensation. And it got done Tuesday afternoon.
“When it got finalized,” Rams GM Les Snead said from Los Angeles on Tuesday night, “you had a very happy head coach and offensive play-caller [McVay] in our offices—and you know that they are one and the same.”
There’s a lot we learned about the Patriots, the Rams, the Giants and the first round of the draft when New England sent wide receiver Cooks and a fourth-round pick to Los Angeles for the Rams’ first and sixth-round picks. Breaking it down:
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE RAMS
Cooks is not a consolation prize for losing out on Odell Beckham Jr. That is clear. Last year, months before the Rams traded for Sammy Watkins in August, they tried to trade with New Orleans for Cooks, before the Saints sent him to New England. “At that time we didn’t have a first-round pick and New England did, and that made all the difference,” Snead said. “We discussed [cornerback] Trumaine Johnson with New Orleans, but we could not trump New England’s one.”
Beckham would cost two firsts and, if the Rams were able to sign him, about $20 million a year. Cooks, I’m guessing, will be around $17 million a year (if they can sign him beyond this year), and the Rams saved a first-rounder and dropped down 113 picks (from their one to the Patriots’ four) with the other. So in money and draft compensation, LA saved.
It means very little, though, if they can’t sign Cooks. I’m assuming that has a good chance of getting done, seeing as Cooks is a Californian (Stockton) and has the same agent as Jared Goff—the Rams quarterback will likely become a big Cooks fan, soon.
McVay is so enthused because he has wanted a reliable outside speed receiver since he got to Los Angeles. Sammy Watkins, who left for Kansas City in free agency, was fast but not altogether reliable. Now McVay can deploy Cooks and Robert Woods on the outside and Cooper Kupp in the slot, with prospect Josh Reynolds a promising fourth receiver and Tavon Austin a gadget guy if he stays.
The Rams have now acquired four Pro Bowl-caliber players in the past month—Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Cooks, and now will not pick until late on the second day of the draft, the 87th overall choice. “I can honestly say we can’t do much more now,” Snead said. They likely won’t sign even bargain unrestricted free agents now, because they want to capitalize on compensatory picks in 2019.
The biggest looming issue for the Rams: Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Cooks are both looming 2019 free agents. If they both get to the market, the Rams can only tag one. That’s likely to be Donald, the best defensive lineman in football. So the race will be on to get one or both signed long-term and, if necessary, put a franchise or transition tag on the other to keep him for 2019.
“One of our main priorities now is to make Aaron Donald a Ram for a long time,” Snead said.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PATRIOTS
New England is in enviable draft position now. This is the first time since 1998 that the Patriots have had two first-round picks and two second-round picks in a draft. That’s great, because the Patriots have a lot of holes to fill. They need a quarterback heir to soon-to-be 41-year-old Tom Brady. They need a left tackle after the departure of Nate Solder to the Giants in free agency. They need a corner and could use a young receiver to build around.
I doubt this means the Patriots will collect a bunch of draft capital to move up for one of the hot quarterbacks in the draft. It doesn’t make sense, especially considering that the Browns at one and the Jets at three seems locked on quarterbacks … and to trade from the 23rd slot into the top five or six will take more than four picks they’ve got in the top two rounds—numbers 23, 31, 43 and 63 overall. At quarterback, it makes much more sense to stand pat for a second-tier quarterback like Lamar Jackson or Mason Rudolph.
The Patriots, I’m told, tried to re-sign Cooks beyond this final year of his deal. But that was problematic because they didn’t view him (or any receiver) as being worth $15-17 million a year, and because of the domino effect it would have had to pay any pass-catcher significantly more than tight end Rob Gronkowski (due $8.9 million in salary and bonuses this year).
Trading for Beckham seems a preposterous notion, both in compensation and in contract size.
This is the most important draft in years for the Patriots. This is an aging team without many young players of star quality. This draft is strong for potential cornerstone players until about pick 12, then, as several personnel gurus have told me this offseason, it’s fairly strong in starter quality well into the third round. The Patriots, to build for the post-Brady era, have to hit on two or three stalwart players.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE GIANTS
The team with the best chance and motivation to deal for weird star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. was the Rams. But inside the Rams the feeling was they weren’t going to denude two straight drafts and pay an excellent receiver quarterback money.
There’s no doubt Giants coach Pat Shurmur was thrilled to see the Cooks deal Tuesday night, because Shurmur very much wants to make Beckham the centerpiece of his long-term offensive attack. I’d think there’s very little chance, unless the price comes way down, for the Giants to move Beckham now.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE 2018 DRAFT
Bummer. Snead’s the most aggressive GM in the league, and he’s got one of the most aggressive coaches and a front office led by COO Kevin Demoff that loves the action. None of them is married to the old way of roster-building, and the Rams with multiple picks high in the draft would have made draft weekend in Dallas a lot more fun.
More than ever, it seems likely that one of the great storylines in this draft will be New England picking the man to replace Brady one day. With the Patriots settling on Josh McDaniels as the heir apparent to Belichick, you can be sure he’ll have every one of the top college quarterbacks studied and slotted in order of his preference.
As the development in Foxboro of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett showed over the past four years, sitting behind Brady is an excellent prep school for a strong prospect. Imagine, say, Lamar Jackson having the chance to watch and soak in what it takes to be great from Brady for a year or two. Or Luke Falk, or Rudolph, or whomever.
Brandin Cooks Trade: The Domino Effect on the Rams, Patriots, Giants, 2018 Draft
By PETER KING
The difference-maker in the Patriots’ trade of Brandin Cooks to the Rams on Tuesday? I’m told the deal, which had been discussed several times since the end of the season, got rekindled when Sean McVay and Bill Belichick talked at the University of Georgia football coaches clinic late last week.
I hear the Rams had their first-round pick on the table, but it was the ancillary picks that needed to be reconfigured for the deal to finally get done; the Rams wanted better than a fourth-rounder in return from New England, and the Patriots stuck to their guns on their proposed compensation. And it got done Tuesday afternoon.
“When it got finalized,” Rams GM Les Snead said from Los Angeles on Tuesday night, “you had a very happy head coach and offensive play-caller [McVay] in our offices—and you know that they are one and the same.”
There’s a lot we learned about the Patriots, the Rams, the Giants and the first round of the draft when New England sent wide receiver Cooks and a fourth-round pick to Los Angeles for the Rams’ first and sixth-round picks. Breaking it down:
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE RAMS
Cooks is not a consolation prize for losing out on Odell Beckham Jr. That is clear. Last year, months before the Rams traded for Sammy Watkins in August, they tried to trade with New Orleans for Cooks, before the Saints sent him to New England. “At that time we didn’t have a first-round pick and New England did, and that made all the difference,” Snead said. “We discussed [cornerback] Trumaine Johnson with New Orleans, but we could not trump New England’s one.”
Beckham would cost two firsts and, if the Rams were able to sign him, about $20 million a year. Cooks, I’m guessing, will be around $17 million a year (if they can sign him beyond this year), and the Rams saved a first-rounder and dropped down 113 picks (from their one to the Patriots’ four) with the other. So in money and draft compensation, LA saved.
It means very little, though, if they can’t sign Cooks. I’m assuming that has a good chance of getting done, seeing as Cooks is a Californian (Stockton) and has the same agent as Jared Goff—the Rams quarterback will likely become a big Cooks fan, soon.
McVay is so enthused because he has wanted a reliable outside speed receiver since he got to Los Angeles. Sammy Watkins, who left for Kansas City in free agency, was fast but not altogether reliable. Now McVay can deploy Cooks and Robert Woods on the outside and Cooper Kupp in the slot, with prospect Josh Reynolds a promising fourth receiver and Tavon Austin a gadget guy if he stays.
The Rams have now acquired four Pro Bowl-caliber players in the past month—Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Cooks, and now will not pick until late on the second day of the draft, the 87th overall choice. “I can honestly say we can’t do much more now,” Snead said. They likely won’t sign even bargain unrestricted free agents now, because they want to capitalize on compensatory picks in 2019.
The biggest looming issue for the Rams: Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Cooks are both looming 2019 free agents. If they both get to the market, the Rams can only tag one. That’s likely to be Donald, the best defensive lineman in football. So the race will be on to get one or both signed long-term and, if necessary, put a franchise or transition tag on the other to keep him for 2019.
“One of our main priorities now is to make Aaron Donald a Ram for a long time,” Snead said.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PATRIOTS
New England is in enviable draft position now. This is the first time since 1998 that the Patriots have had two first-round picks and two second-round picks in a draft. That’s great, because the Patriots have a lot of holes to fill. They need a quarterback heir to soon-to-be 41-year-old Tom Brady. They need a left tackle after the departure of Nate Solder to the Giants in free agency. They need a corner and could use a young receiver to build around.
I doubt this means the Patriots will collect a bunch of draft capital to move up for one of the hot quarterbacks in the draft. It doesn’t make sense, especially considering that the Browns at one and the Jets at three seems locked on quarterbacks … and to trade from the 23rd slot into the top five or six will take more than four picks they’ve got in the top two rounds—numbers 23, 31, 43 and 63 overall. At quarterback, it makes much more sense to stand pat for a second-tier quarterback like Lamar Jackson or Mason Rudolph.
The Patriots, I’m told, tried to re-sign Cooks beyond this final year of his deal. But that was problematic because they didn’t view him (or any receiver) as being worth $15-17 million a year, and because of the domino effect it would have had to pay any pass-catcher significantly more than tight end Rob Gronkowski (due $8.9 million in salary and bonuses this year).
Trading for Beckham seems a preposterous notion, both in compensation and in contract size.
This is the most important draft in years for the Patriots. This is an aging team without many young players of star quality. This draft is strong for potential cornerstone players until about pick 12, then, as several personnel gurus have told me this offseason, it’s fairly strong in starter quality well into the third round. The Patriots, to build for the post-Brady era, have to hit on two or three stalwart players.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE GIANTS
The team with the best chance and motivation to deal for weird star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. was the Rams. But inside the Rams the feeling was they weren’t going to denude two straight drafts and pay an excellent receiver quarterback money.
There’s no doubt Giants coach Pat Shurmur was thrilled to see the Cooks deal Tuesday night, because Shurmur very much wants to make Beckham the centerpiece of his long-term offensive attack. I’d think there’s very little chance, unless the price comes way down, for the Giants to move Beckham now.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE 2018 DRAFT
Bummer. Snead’s the most aggressive GM in the league, and he’s got one of the most aggressive coaches and a front office led by COO Kevin Demoff that loves the action. None of them is married to the old way of roster-building, and the Rams with multiple picks high in the draft would have made draft weekend in Dallas a lot more fun.
More than ever, it seems likely that one of the great storylines in this draft will be New England picking the man to replace Brady one day. With the Patriots settling on Josh McDaniels as the heir apparent to Belichick, you can be sure he’ll have every one of the top college quarterbacks studied and slotted in order of his preference.
As the development in Foxboro of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett showed over the past four years, sitting behind Brady is an excellent prep school for a strong prospect. Imagine, say, Lamar Jackson having the chance to watch and soak in what it takes to be great from Brady for a year or two. Or Luke Falk, or Rudolph, or whomever.
Seth Griffith
UDFA
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This....I wanted Cooks back in 2014. Keep TA off the field (jet sweep looses no attention) and in our system, I think Cooks will potentially have his best years! Pick your poison..Cooks, Gurley, Kupp, Woods are all legit and have to be accounted for. Now imagine if Everett comes alive with his physical talent.
jap
Legend
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The problem there is The Fisher King was the one doing the 'thinking.'
I wonder, do the '9ers still think we fear Jimmy G.? With Aaron "The Kracken" Donald, Ndamukong "King Kong" Suh, and Micheal "The Incredible Brock" Brockers getting ready to play Snap, Crackle, & Pop with Jimmy G, I would think the '9er signal caller has much more to worry about than the Rampaging Horns do.
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https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/...s-trade-los-angeles-rams-new-england-patriots
Trading for Brandin Cooks Shows the Rams Are All In
By Danny Heifetz
The Deal
Patriots Receive: First-round pick (no. 23 overall), sixth-round pick (unknown, somewhere between no. 176 and no. 198)
Rams Receive: WR Brandin Cooks, fourth-round pick (no. 135 overall)
Let Sean McVay Cook(s)
The Rams acquiring Cooks is titillating from a football standpoint, if puzzling from a team-building perspective. Cooks had 1,082 yards on 65 receptions (16.6 yards per catch) to go with seven touchdowns last year with the Patriots, and now the Rams have once again given Jared Goff a valuable receiver to look to and brought in someone to draw attention away from Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, albeit with a different style than the departed Sammy Watkins, who left for the Chiefs in March.
Plugging Cooks into the Rams offense is going to be awesome, especially if head coach/offensive coordinator/savant/wunderkind/sorcerer Sean McVay envisions him as a supercharged version of Jamison Crowder from McVay’s days in Washington.
Yet the price paid to acquire him is pause-worthy considering he’s a free agent after this season. The Saints traded Cooks and a fourth-rounder to the Patriots for a first-rounder (no. 32 overall) and a third-rounder in March 2017, when Cooks had a $1.56 million cap hit in the fourth year of his rookie deal. A year later, the Patriots flipped him for a higher first-rounder despite his cap hit quintupling on his fifth-year team option this season ($8.5 million), and him being a year closer to free agency.
(For what it’s worth, Cooks got to play with both Drew Brees and Tom Brady in back-to-back seasons, and both Asshole Face and Bill Belichick decided to trade him.) Considering what the Rams paid, and that they’ll need to get him a contract or to use the franchise tag on him to keep him in 2019 and beyond, it’s hard not to wonder whether they should have held onto their pick and drafted a rookie receiver who would be under team control for five years—or added in another high pick and splurged for Odell Beckham Jr. Adding Cooks feels like an awkward middle ground.
Les Snead Is Out of Picks to Give
As wild as it is to trade for a player as good as Cooks, he might be only the fourth-best player the Rams have acquired this offseason. This is the fifth trade the Rams have made in the past six weeks. In case you’re losing track, here’s the net result of the Rams’ offseason.
Rams Added: WR Brandin Cooks, CB Marcus Peters, CB Aqib Talib, DL Ndamukong Suh (free agency), Giants’ 2018 fourth-round pick, Giants’ 2018 sixth-round pick, unknown Dolphins mid-round pick, Chiefs’ 2018 sixth-round pick
Rams Lost: 2018 first-round pick, 2018 fourth-round pick, 2018 fifth-round pick, 2018 seventh-round pick, 2019 second-round pick, 2019 seventh-round pick, DE Robert Quinn, ILB Alec Ogletree, WR Sammy Watkins (free agency)
Holy crap! That’s what you do in Madden when you want to play franchise mode but don’t have the patience for more than a season or two. Every player listed above is a former first-round draft pick, and Cooks is the only one the Rams acquired who hasn’t been named a first-team All-Pro. Adding Peters was savvy, Talib was aggressive, and Suh was silly, but trading for Cooks might be a bridge too far.
The Rams built their core with a stunning number of picks, though not all of them worked out. Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Michael Brockers, and Lamarcus Joyner are all homegrown players, with Brockers representing the only player left on the roster from the eight picks acquired in the 2012 Robert Griffin III trade.
The Rams have dealt a startling collection of draft picks for certifiable contributors, but they may not have the cap room to keep the gang together for very long. The Rams are all in with their core—perhaps more than any team in recent memory—and now they are officially a “Super Bowl or Bust” squad.
Trading for Brandin Cooks Shows the Rams Are All In
By Danny Heifetz
The Deal
Patriots Receive: First-round pick (no. 23 overall), sixth-round pick (unknown, somewhere between no. 176 and no. 198)
Rams Receive: WR Brandin Cooks, fourth-round pick (no. 135 overall)
Let Sean McVay Cook(s)
The Rams acquiring Cooks is titillating from a football standpoint, if puzzling from a team-building perspective. Cooks had 1,082 yards on 65 receptions (16.6 yards per catch) to go with seven touchdowns last year with the Patriots, and now the Rams have once again given Jared Goff a valuable receiver to look to and brought in someone to draw attention away from Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, albeit with a different style than the departed Sammy Watkins, who left for the Chiefs in March.
Plugging Cooks into the Rams offense is going to be awesome, especially if head coach/offensive coordinator/savant/wunderkind/sorcerer Sean McVay envisions him as a supercharged version of Jamison Crowder from McVay’s days in Washington.
Yet the price paid to acquire him is pause-worthy considering he’s a free agent after this season. The Saints traded Cooks and a fourth-rounder to the Patriots for a first-rounder (no. 32 overall) and a third-rounder in March 2017, when Cooks had a $1.56 million cap hit in the fourth year of his rookie deal. A year later, the Patriots flipped him for a higher first-rounder despite his cap hit quintupling on his fifth-year team option this season ($8.5 million), and him being a year closer to free agency.
(For what it’s worth, Cooks got to play with both Drew Brees and Tom Brady in back-to-back seasons, and both Asshole Face and Bill Belichick decided to trade him.) Considering what the Rams paid, and that they’ll need to get him a contract or to use the franchise tag on him to keep him in 2019 and beyond, it’s hard not to wonder whether they should have held onto their pick and drafted a rookie receiver who would be under team control for five years—or added in another high pick and splurged for Odell Beckham Jr. Adding Cooks feels like an awkward middle ground.
Les Snead Is Out of Picks to Give
As wild as it is to trade for a player as good as Cooks, he might be only the fourth-best player the Rams have acquired this offseason. This is the fifth trade the Rams have made in the past six weeks. In case you’re losing track, here’s the net result of the Rams’ offseason.
Rams Added: WR Brandin Cooks, CB Marcus Peters, CB Aqib Talib, DL Ndamukong Suh (free agency), Giants’ 2018 fourth-round pick, Giants’ 2018 sixth-round pick, unknown Dolphins mid-round pick, Chiefs’ 2018 sixth-round pick
Rams Lost: 2018 first-round pick, 2018 fourth-round pick, 2018 fifth-round pick, 2018 seventh-round pick, 2019 second-round pick, 2019 seventh-round pick, DE Robert Quinn, ILB Alec Ogletree, WR Sammy Watkins (free agency)
Holy crap! That’s what you do in Madden when you want to play franchise mode but don’t have the patience for more than a season or two. Every player listed above is a former first-round draft pick, and Cooks is the only one the Rams acquired who hasn’t been named a first-team All-Pro. Adding Peters was savvy, Talib was aggressive, and Suh was silly, but trading for Cooks might be a bridge too far.
The Rams built their core with a stunning number of picks, though not all of them worked out. Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Michael Brockers, and Lamarcus Joyner are all homegrown players, with Brockers representing the only player left on the roster from the eight picks acquired in the 2012 Robert Griffin III trade.
The Rams have dealt a startling collection of draft picks for certifiable contributors, but they may not have the cap room to keep the gang together for very long. The Rams are all in with their core—perhaps more than any team in recent memory—and now they are officially a “Super Bowl or Bust” squad.
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https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-rams-prove-all-in-for-2018-continue-aggressive-offseason
Rams prove all-in for 2018, continue aggressive offseason
BY GORDON MCGUINNESS
Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Rams have a young quarterback still on his rookie deal for the next three seasons assuming they pick up Jared Goff‘s fifth-year option, and they are taking advantage of the luxury of not having a large quarterback contract on the books with the most aggressive offseason in the NFL to date. They have made moves both up front and in the defensive backfield, and added playmakers on offense. So what do the Rams moves mean for their outlook in 2018?
Trade for Brandin Cooks
On the surface, trading a first-round draft pick for Brandin Cooks when the Rams already have Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on their roster might seem like a luxury, but when you look at the Rams personnel usage in 2017, another top receiver was a team need. The Rams used three or four wide receiver sets on 86 percent of their offensive snaps last season, way up on the NFL average of 59 percent.
While neither of the trio have shown themselves to be clear No. 1 WR so far in their career, Woods, Kupp and Cooks produced PFF grades of 83.2, 81.2 and 77.1 in 2017, respectively. It also gives them three of the 25 most productive receivers in the NFL from last season, with Cooks averaging 1.78 yards per route run, Kupp 2.05 and Woods ranking eighth in the NFL averaging 2.17. So far in his career, Cooks has been primarily an outside wide receiver and both Woods and Kupp saw time in the slot last season, giving them versatility there.
Impact signing of Suh up front
As we covered after the signing, the Rams’ signing of Ndamukong Suh made a huge statement of their intentions this season, and rumors that he wouldn’t be a scheme fit were quickly dispelled, with Suh seeing plenty of time at 1-tech and 2-tech in 2017, where he would fit to allow Aaron Donald to remain predominantly at 3-tech and continue to wreak havoc on the NFL.
The duo should strike fear into every offense on their schedule in 2018, combining for 17 sacks, 21 hits and 96 hurries a season ago. The level of disruption they can bring to the interior is something we really haven’t seen in recent memory, so it will be interesting to see how teams attempt to deal with the duo. By alignment, it will be easier to double team Suh at 1/2-tech, but Donald’s level of play has been so transcendent that he requires extra attention too.
Playmakers in the defensive backfield
With dominant pressure on the interior, plays will be there to be made from the Rams defensive backs with quarterbacks forced into early throws and likely several mistakes. With that in mind, the addition of Marcus Peters this offseason was huge. Peters is not without his flaws and has allowed 2,240 yards in coverage over the past three seasons, though that has dropped from 1,057 to 687 to 496 over his three-year career, but he is one of the top playmakers on defense in the entire NFL.
Since arriving in the league as the 18th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, Peters has racked up 21 interceptions and 34 pass breakups and his NFL passer rating allowed of 65.2 on throws into his coverage is the lowest among all cornerbacks with 1,500 or more snaps in coverage since 2015.
Third-lowest on that list is the other cornerback the Rams dealt for this offseason – Aqib Talib – who has allowed an NFL passer rating of 71.5 on throws into his coverage in that span. Talib has been one of the stingiest cornerbacks in coverage over the past two seasons, allowing just 601 yards in coverage since the beginning of the 2016 season.
Remaining holes
The Rams have been aggressive this offseason, but they still have holes to fill on their roster. Their offensive line is solid across the board, with the exception of right guard where Jamon Brown struggled in 2017 and produced a PFF grade of 52.1 which ranked 38thamong players at the position.
As much as the duo of Donald and Suh can wreak havoc on the interior of their defense, the Rams could benefit from improving on the edge as Matt Longacre (73.8) and Samson Ebukam (70.0) both graded outside the top-60 players at the position in 2017. They could also do with strengthening the linebacker position with Mark Barron sitting as their highest graded player at the position despite ranking just 44thwith a PFF grade of 71.2 in 2017.
All things considered, this is a Rams team which has planted a flag and made it clear that they expect to contend for the Super Bowl in 2018. They don’t have a shrinking window because of an aging quarterback, but their aggression highlights that the brass in Los Angeles understands that the window to be aggression in roster additions closes as soon as they have to spend big at quarterback, so it is well worth the risk to take the swings they have taken this offseason.
Rams prove all-in for 2018, continue aggressive offseason
BY GORDON MCGUINNESS
Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Rams have a young quarterback still on his rookie deal for the next three seasons assuming they pick up Jared Goff‘s fifth-year option, and they are taking advantage of the luxury of not having a large quarterback contract on the books with the most aggressive offseason in the NFL to date. They have made moves both up front and in the defensive backfield, and added playmakers on offense. So what do the Rams moves mean for their outlook in 2018?
Trade for Brandin Cooks
On the surface, trading a first-round draft pick for Brandin Cooks when the Rams already have Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on their roster might seem like a luxury, but when you look at the Rams personnel usage in 2017, another top receiver was a team need. The Rams used three or four wide receiver sets on 86 percent of their offensive snaps last season, way up on the NFL average of 59 percent.
While neither of the trio have shown themselves to be clear No. 1 WR so far in their career, Woods, Kupp and Cooks produced PFF grades of 83.2, 81.2 and 77.1 in 2017, respectively. It also gives them three of the 25 most productive receivers in the NFL from last season, with Cooks averaging 1.78 yards per route run, Kupp 2.05 and Woods ranking eighth in the NFL averaging 2.17. So far in his career, Cooks has been primarily an outside wide receiver and both Woods and Kupp saw time in the slot last season, giving them versatility there.
Impact signing of Suh up front
As we covered after the signing, the Rams’ signing of Ndamukong Suh made a huge statement of their intentions this season, and rumors that he wouldn’t be a scheme fit were quickly dispelled, with Suh seeing plenty of time at 1-tech and 2-tech in 2017, where he would fit to allow Aaron Donald to remain predominantly at 3-tech and continue to wreak havoc on the NFL.
The duo should strike fear into every offense on their schedule in 2018, combining for 17 sacks, 21 hits and 96 hurries a season ago. The level of disruption they can bring to the interior is something we really haven’t seen in recent memory, so it will be interesting to see how teams attempt to deal with the duo. By alignment, it will be easier to double team Suh at 1/2-tech, but Donald’s level of play has been so transcendent that he requires extra attention too.
Playmakers in the defensive backfield
With dominant pressure on the interior, plays will be there to be made from the Rams defensive backs with quarterbacks forced into early throws and likely several mistakes. With that in mind, the addition of Marcus Peters this offseason was huge. Peters is not without his flaws and has allowed 2,240 yards in coverage over the past three seasons, though that has dropped from 1,057 to 687 to 496 over his three-year career, but he is one of the top playmakers on defense in the entire NFL.
Since arriving in the league as the 18th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, Peters has racked up 21 interceptions and 34 pass breakups and his NFL passer rating allowed of 65.2 on throws into his coverage is the lowest among all cornerbacks with 1,500 or more snaps in coverage since 2015.
Third-lowest on that list is the other cornerback the Rams dealt for this offseason – Aqib Talib – who has allowed an NFL passer rating of 71.5 on throws into his coverage in that span. Talib has been one of the stingiest cornerbacks in coverage over the past two seasons, allowing just 601 yards in coverage since the beginning of the 2016 season.
Remaining holes
The Rams have been aggressive this offseason, but they still have holes to fill on their roster. Their offensive line is solid across the board, with the exception of right guard where Jamon Brown struggled in 2017 and produced a PFF grade of 52.1 which ranked 38thamong players at the position.
As much as the duo of Donald and Suh can wreak havoc on the interior of their defense, the Rams could benefit from improving on the edge as Matt Longacre (73.8) and Samson Ebukam (70.0) both graded outside the top-60 players at the position in 2017. They could also do with strengthening the linebacker position with Mark Barron sitting as their highest graded player at the position despite ranking just 44thwith a PFF grade of 71.2 in 2017.
All things considered, this is a Rams team which has planted a flag and made it clear that they expect to contend for the Super Bowl in 2018. They don’t have a shrinking window because of an aging quarterback, but their aggression highlights that the brass in Los Angeles understands that the window to be aggression in roster additions closes as soon as they have to spend big at quarterback, so it is well worth the risk to take the swings they have taken this offseason.
12intheBox
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All players in the NFL are rentals - the question is the terms of the lease.
A first round pick you can control for 4 years plus a more expensive 5th year option.
So a one year “rental” is 20-25 percent of a first round pick by itself.
What a rental does have that a first round pick does not is the certainty. This is test driven, performance rated, we know what it is and what it can do.
A first round pick is fresh off the lot and has about a 25-35% lemon rate. So you may have 4-5 years of crap - of which you are guaranteeing 4 years worth of money.
Let’s not sleep on moving from the 6th to the 4th in the deal either. This team gets things done in the middle rounds.
A first round pick you can control for 4 years plus a more expensive 5th year option.
So a one year “rental” is 20-25 percent of a first round pick by itself.
What a rental does have that a first round pick does not is the certainty. This is test driven, performance rated, we know what it is and what it can do.
A first round pick is fresh off the lot and has about a 25-35% lemon rate. So you may have 4-5 years of crap - of which you are guaranteeing 4 years worth of money.
Let’s not sleep on moving from the 6th to the 4th in the deal either. This team gets things done in the middle rounds.
