3 reasons LA Rams WR Brandin Cooks bounces back in 2020

LA Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks 2019 season was disappointing. But look for him in 2020, as here are 3 reasons why he bounces back next season

The LA Rams had invested a substantial amount into retaining wide receiver Brandin Cooks. A significant amount indeed, as Cooks will account for 8.1 percent of the team’s total salary cap for 2020. That is a significant amount for a player who ranked fourth on the team’s receiving yardage, and who hauled in just two touchdowns in 2019.

Huge dollars, paultry return. While much is made about the offensive line, an average season out of Cooks in 2019 would have put the Rams into the playoffs.  So one objective for the team is to get Cooks back into his average productions.

That may not be an easy task.  It’s well known throughout the NFL that 5-foot-10 184 pound Brandin Cooks is fast but fragile. He can stretch the defense with blinding speed, but he has a history of concussions which has placed him on every fan’s watch list of “is this the one that ends his career?”.

Historically, Cooks has played for just three NFL teams: the New Orleans Saints, the New England Patriots, and the Los Angeles Rams.  He averaged about 80 percent of the offensive snaps during his three years with the Saints. The Patriots played him an exhausting 93 percent of their offensive plays.  The Rams used him on 90 percent of the plays in 2018, but that number dropped to 63 percent of the offensive plays in 14 games in 2019. Perhaps the Rams should level out Cooks between 70 and 80 percent of the offensive plays for starters? That seemed to work out well for the Saints, where he was the most productive of his career.