Jennings: This Saints free agent signing is flying under the radar

The return of this veteran WR hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.

In late March, the New Orleans Saints reunited with their first-round pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, veteran WR Brandin Cooks, inking him to a two-year, $13 million deal. This move hasn’t been talked about nearly as much as I believe it should, and when it does come up, some have labeled it a whiff—pointing to the fact that New Orleans has yet to add a true contested-catch threat over the middle.

The 31-year-old did miss seven games for the Dallas Cowboys last season, suffering a knee injury in Week 4 against the New York Giants that required a procedure, which led to an infection that had to be cleaned out, along with a meniscus issue that had troubled him all offseason.

However, Cooks appeared in all 17 games for Dallas in 2023, including the Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers. That season he hauled in 60 of his 89 targets for 704 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

If he can put up anything remotely close to those numbers for New Orleans, it could really ease the burden off the shoulders of WRs Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed—and given their injury history, it would also provide some much-needed insurance for the Saints.

I also feel like New Orleans snagged Cooks on a steal of a contract for a player of his stature. To put that into perspective, consider veteran WR Stefon Diggs, who signed a massive three-year, $63.5 million deal ($22.6 million guaranteed) with the New England Patriots this offseason:

• Both players are 31 years old and coming off career lows in production after dealing with injuries.
• Both have exactly six 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
• One signed for $23 million per year—the other for just $6.5 million.

I’d call that a great bargain for New Orleans and incredible value for a pass catcher as consistent as Cooks has been throughout his career, no matter the uniform.

As I’ve previously mentioned, when it comes to size concerns in the Saints’ WR room, HC Kellen Moore has actually pointed to a selection of guys already in the building—Cedrick Wilson Jr. (who had a career year in the slot under Moore in 2021 with the Cowboys), second-year breakout candidate Bub Means, and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who did not see the field in 2024 but had several productive years with the Cleveland Browns—as potential big-bodied, over-the-middle threats who could grow into that role for New Orleans. So, I don’t necessarily view the addition of another undersized speedster as a negative.

Additionally, it’s also worth noting that during OTAs, Kellen Moore emphasized speed and versatility with this WR group:

“I feel like our receiving corps has great energy, great juice.”

Given Moore’s track record during his time as an offensive coordinator, I’d say that’s proven to be true—which is why I believe Brandin Cooks will have a prominent role in the New Orleans offense in 2025 under Moore’s play...