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.

I – Nobody expects much from him any longer

NFL defenses aim at the current stars on any team’s offense.  For the LA Rams receiving corps, that included either WR Cooper Kupp or WR Robert Woods.  Both accounted for over 1,000 receiving yards in 2019, and will likely put up even better numbers in 2020.  Cooks accounted for about half that amount.

Defenses dedicate their top pass defenders against the best offensive players. Defenses recognize the risks associated with each player and attempt to neutralize that by dedicating equal or greater skills to that player. In an average season for Cooks, the defense might place their best cornerback on him off the line, and ensure a safety looks his way to defend the deep ball.

Based on his 2019 numbers, defenses will no longer dedicate that much to defend him. One defensive back, and perhaps simply a slot cornerback, will be the response from many defenses in 2020.

Offenses love Cooks’ speed and try to involve that break-away gallop at virtually any chance they get. That places Cooks into the running game as well, a risky move for a receiver who is prone to injury. Keeping Cooks exclusively a receiver will help keep him on the field.

II- Help is coming for quarterback Jared Goff

The LA Rams placed a lot of the team’s offense on the throwing arm of quarterback Jared Goff in 2019, and he was simply not ready for it. After 2018, the Rams were placed into the unenviable position of trying to reduce the workload of the feature running back Todd Gurley.

The solution for 2019? Eliminate carries altogether and push those plays into the pass offense, forcing Jared Goff to throw the ball nearly 2/3rds of the time. The offensive linemen continued to fall to injury as the offense became more and more of a one-trick pony.

Jared Goff may be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, but he is not the top quarterback in the league. And he is far from the most experienced quarterback in the NFL.  So it’s not wise to simply just start off a game by asking Goff to thread the needle on difficult throws or hurl it far downfield to a speedy Cooks on a post route.

New offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is taking over coaching Jared Goff. That will pay off huge dividends for Cooks in two ways.  The first is Goff will have a better handle on his throws, and will not miss a wide-open Cooks nearly as much.  The second is that Goff will have a greater say in the playbook, and will have a chance to build confidence early in the game. That confidence will pay huge dividends when he is asked to make the tough throw to Cooks.

III-Better play selection

The LA Rams’ use of Brandin Cooks has become somewhat predictable.  With the offense running almost entirely through head coach Sean McVay, the offense became a somewhat familiar pattern of formations and plays.  Cooks was one of the more predictable pieces to the Rams offense in 2019.  That’s not the most efficient way to run an NFL offense.

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Thankfully, the Rams have hired O’Connell to help in the playbook and play-calling.  With O’Connell, the Rams will have some foresight as to when to make full use of Cook’s speed as a receiver, and when to give him higher percentage throws, like an out, hitch, or hook route.

The Rams prolific passing offense has been predicated on overwhelming defenses with numerous receivers running routes quickly to ensure one finds an opening in the defense. Goff simply then throws to the open man.  But defenses have caught up to the Rams offense by speeding up the pass rush and forcing Goff to make throws prematurely.  Now, the advantage runs to the defense, and it’s up to the Rams to improve the odds.  Of course, the Rams have options to do exactly that.

The Rams had some success later in 2019 by playing two tight-end sets. That adds a blocker/receiver to the offense, which affords more time for Goff to throw the ball. Meanwhile, the Rams could not help but notice how effectively both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs made use of a fullback in their offenses. To implement a fullback, the Rams needed a running backs coach who has worked with fullbacks in the past. The Rams found such a running backs coach by hiring Thomas Brown. With added pass protection, the Rams can call for the deep routes Cooks is so effective with, and have a solid pocket protecting Goff.

Brandin Cooks is a very well-paid wide receiver, and the Rams will likely need to readjust that contract to afford to sign free agents in 2020. But WR Brandin Cooks is not ready for the NFL scrap heap just yet.  Look for him to return in 2020.