As Brandin Cooks enters his second season with the Dallas Cowboys, the veteran should be poised to get back to his 1,000-yard ways. Cooks was solid in OTAs and minicamp due to this being his second offseason in Mike McCartht’s scheme and his connection with Dak Prescott.
Dallas will lean on this passing attack probably even more than they did in 2023. That is because they don’t have a true No. 1 running back.
They are going to struggle with a running back by committee. Sure, either Ezekiel Elliott or Rico Dowdle could get hot for a game, and they will lean on it, but don’t expect a lot of consistency.
Poised For A Big Year
The Cowboys averaged 276 intended air yards per game in 2023, the fifth-highest marking football a season ago.
This will likely be even higher in 2024, and Cooks is going to have a lot of favorable matchups.
CeeDee Lamb is coming off his best season ever, and teams are going to make it their number 1 play to stop him with Tony Pollard now gone.
The crafty vet is entering his 11th season. Despite playing so long, he still has breakaway speed and catches dang near everything thrown his way.
He has 3,917 career snaps as an outside receiver and over 1,500 in the slot. With an even higher based passing attack, Cooks has every chance to eclipse 1,000 again, something he has done six times in his career.
Cooks Is More Than A Receiver
Cooks is not only a stud as a pass catcher but has also shown this offseason that he is a huge leader in the locker room.
There is an opening at the No. 3 receiver spot in Dallas this season. Michael Gallup was released by the team in March after two disappointing seasons coming off a torn ACL in 2021.
“He’s ready to go,” Cooks said of Jalen Tolbert. “Whatever the expectation is for him out there, I’m telling you he’s going to crush it. He’s ready.”
Tolbert, a third-round draft pick in 2022, should see the field more because Gallup is no longer on the roster, he out-snapped him in 4 games last year!
Not only has he spoken up about Tolbert, but he has made it clear that his quarterback should be the future of the Dallas Cowboys.
“Indubitably, absolutely, no question,” Cooks told the Gojo and Golic show when asked if Prescott should be the quarterback of the future for the Cowboys. “Last year, what he did, the first year of Mike McCarthy’s offense, for the longest he was MVP frontrunner and then I believe he finished second or third.”
Cooks is the type of guy you want in the locker room not only for the offense but for hearing that type of praise.
Last Chance?
Cooks probably won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he will be one of those guys that get talked about when it comes to being underrated.
He has produced everywhere he has landed.
He should be poised for a big second season. This team might look a heck of a lot different a year from now, so let’s enjoy being able to compete while we can.
Once these guys are gone, this team will be back to winning 6-8 games a year.
This team has one last chance to make a run before maybe Dak, Mike McCarthy, Cooks, and others are on the way out. The only two returning players could be Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb. If this team falls short again, I don’t see anyone else coming back.
I would really enjoy some postseason success in 2024, but it is hard to tell what we will get once January rolls around.