When the New England Patriots acquired WR Brandin Cooks for a first round pick and some loose change, they expected the speedster to add a new element to the offense as a quick, yards-after-the-catch superstar.
If joint practices against the Jacksonville Jaguars are any indicator, Cooks is not just meeting expectations by taking the top off of defenses, but he’s winning contested catches on the sideline and making ridiculous one-handed catches in the corner of the end zone.
Cooks with the one-hander again. pic.twitter.com/BWgZjtMlH4
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 8, 2017
Hopefully Cooks can continue to play at such a high level when it actually matters and his performance under the lights during week 1 of the preseason should be a strong indicator of where he actually stands.
EDIT: WR Malcolm Mitchell embarrassed a Jaguars defender of his own:
Sweet move by Malcolm Mitchell. Left Stanley Jean-Baptiste in the dust. pic.twitter.com/k0efIYgkwC
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 8, 2017
EDIT2: Patriots defensive backs did a nice job defending the Jaguars passing attack, too:
Here's some of #Jaguars wide receivers working vs #Patriots db's. #ASJax pic.twitter.com/3YPOXeJHZc
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) August 8, 2017