Brandin Cooks impressive in his first year as a Patriot
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| Winslow Townson | AP Images |
Brandin Cooks is making his presence known.
The New England Patriots’ wide receiver had a breakout performance in Sunday’s win over the Oakland Raiders, in which he caught six passes for 149 yards including, a 64-yard touchdown.
After his stellar game, the 24-year-old took to Instagram to showcase his enjoyment of playing with the Patriots.
And Brandin is clearly not the only one who is happy he’s now in Patriots Nation, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady also commented on his talent and abilities.
“Brandin’s been a great player for us all year,” Belichick said. “He does whatever he’s asked to do. He’s always ready to go. He’s got great endurance, stamina, speed. Whether he’s at the block, runs short routes, run deep routes, clear out, catch-and-run plays, he’s willing to do whatever he needs to do. He works very hard to do it well and create the good timing with the quarterback and the other receivers in the passing game. Nobody works harder than Brandin. He’s very unselfish. He’s a great teammate, and we’re fortunate to have him on our team.”
“It’s hard to catch him from behind,” Brady said of his and Cook’s 64-yard touchdown connection. “With the thin air, you just have to let it go and hopefully you’ll connect deep. It was a great-play calling by [offensive coordinator] Josh [McDaniels] and it worked on the fade. The defense bit it and Cooks was all alone, so I just needed to put the ball there.”
Cooks has played 92.3 percent of the offensive snaps this season and has 45 catches for 786 yards and four touchdowns. He now leads the Patriots in yardage and yards per catch.
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