Houston Texans news this season will involve Brandin Cooks, as he is near the top in a unique receiver stat.
When the Houston Texans news broke this offseason that they had traded for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, it gave the Texans offense more hope as some big-time changes had been made earlier in the offseason. Now with July on the calendar, and training camp hopefully staying on schedule, there is a lot to look forward to with the add-on of Cooks.
Brandin Cooks is a solid wide receiver, but recently he has battled some concussion issues, which shouldn’t be taken lightly at all for his overall health. If he does stay on the field for the 2020 season, there is one stat that all of us can watch for with the wide receiver, and it isn’t one that really stands out in the moment but can lead to great results.
The stat that Cooks is second in the league in since the 2017 season is having the most targets with a step or more of separation 20-plus yards downfield. That stat is courtesy of Pro Football Focus, as the PFF site recently tweeted the stat on their Twitter page.
Leading the league in that aforementioned category is Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill with 58 of those targets, and in third place is Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons with 42 targets while having a step or more 20-plus yards downfield.
To be honest, this isn’t a stat really thought of much, but come to think of it, the target stat is of great importance. With this being the first season Cooks has played for the Texans, and with quarterback Deshaun Watson, having that ability available could really help the sometimes predictable Texans offense.
Most targets with a step or more of separation 20 + yards downfield since 2017:
— PFF (@PFF) June 29, 2020
1. Tyreek Hill - 58
2. Brandin Cooks - 47
3. Julio Jones - 42 pic.twitter.com/3iwFJnQc2E
Also having that stat in their back pocket with Cooks having that talent and speed, it will help in a great deal of keeping pressure off other wide receivers, because somebody is going to have to help take off pressure of the wide receivers without DeAndre Hopkins on the roster after he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals.
Houston Texans News: Brandin Cooks had one 50-plus yard reception in 2019
With Cooks, he had 42 receptions last season for 583 yards and two touchdowns as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. None of those receptions were for 20-plus yards, and one of those went for 57 yards in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints.
Brandin Cooks is going to be an interesting new addition to the Houston Texans offense because of his ability to break away from the opposing defender, which means Deshaun Watson has the opportunity to have a field day with the deep pass this season, if given enough time by the Texans’ offensive line.
For his career, Cooks has 86 receptions that have gone for 20-plus yards since joining the league in 2014, and of all his receptions, 25 of those have gone for 40-plus yards.
In all, Brandin Cooks has 402 career receptions for 5,730 yards and 34 touchdowns in his first six years in the NFL. Cooks averages 14.3 yards per receptions in his six NFL seasons, and if he can continue his career averages, Cooks and Watson will do just fine as a duo for the Texans.
The Texans offense is under-the-radar going into the 2020 training camp month and even the regular season in September, but that is fine.
Don’t overlook Brandin Cooks and his targets with a step or more of separation 20-plus yards downfield ability, because if he can do that this season, the Texans offense will not only surprise many opponents, but they will score a lot of points along the way.