Bill Belichick isn’t a rah-rah coach. In fact, words of praise from the lips of the New England Patriots head coach are about as rare as the mineral fingerite. So, when Belichick chooses to offer praise about a player, we should take note. On that note, the coach said some positive things about new receiver Brandin Cooks, acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints this offseason.
Though, we’re hardly shocked there was a bit of cautious optimism as well.
“Brandin’s worked hard. Definitely, he has some skill. A transition for him [from New Orleans]; he’s working hard to make it,” Belichick said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “We’ll see how it goes when we get into a more competitive situation [in training camp], but he learns well. It looks like he’s been able to do some multiple things, but we’ll see how all of that transfers in training camp.”
The term “do some multiple things” is absolutely critical to whether Cooks has success in New England or flops. The Patriots do some wild things with their receivers, integrating plenty of double moves and options to their routes. We already know what a speedster can do with Tom Brady, as Randy Moss was absolutely dominant in his single full season with the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Now, we’re not expecting Cooks to score 23 touchdowns this upcoming season for the Pats. But he surely can make a huge difference in how Brady can stretch the field, making the entire offense that much more dangerous.
One more thing Cooks has going for him in terms of Belichick and a potential man crush is he’s already well versed in Patriots speak. When asked what stands out about his new team, he responded, “Each person, individually, doing their job and not worrying about anything else. Paying attention to your job is very important here.”
That’s music to Belichick’s ears.