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The Denver Broncos Need to Trade for Brandin Cooks

By Jason Schandl

Brandin Cooks trade rumors should have the Denver Broncos making an offer for the Rams wide receiver.
Brandin Cooks trade rumors should have the Denver Broncos making an offer for the Rams wide receiver. / Joe Scarnici/Getty Images
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The Denver Broncos have enjoyed a relatively quiet offseason so far, but now is the time for them to make a big splash. The Los Angeles Rams are reportedly fielding offers for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, and that's an opportunity that John Elway and the Broncos must take advantage of.

Cooks' NFL career has been a strange one. He's been traded twice already, playing for three teams in his six seasons. Bouncing around like that is usually not a great sign, and is something typically reserved for middling producers.

Cooks, though, has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in four of his six NFL seasons, averaging 1,042 yards and 6.0 touchdowns on 73.0 receptions per 16 games.

The first two times he was traded, it took a first-round pick to earn his services, but the situation is very different this time around. The Rams are motivated sellers, looking to free up cap space and amass some assets after trading away both their 2020 and 2021 first-round draft picks. Cooks is also coming off a down year in which he had just 583 yards on a career-low 42 receptions in 14 games.

The Broncos are pretty flush with assets, owning their own first- and second-round picks, while also having three third-round selections to their name. It's unlikely that Cooks will cost a first in the Rams' current situation, and that means Denver could make the move and still have plenty of ammunition to keep building for the future.

Pairing sophomore QB Drew Lock with another offensive weapon to go alongside 2019 breakouts Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant could make this offense a dangerous one for years to come.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.