Dallas Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks turns 31 in September, but he carved out a nice role in the league’s top-scoring offense last season with his highest touchdown total since 2015. Can the veteran continue to produce viable fantasy football numbers without much receiver target competition aside from CeeDee Lamb?
Brandin Cooks’ 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 155 (98 non-PPR)
- Receptions: 57
- Receiving Yards: 680
- Receiving TDs: 5
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 16. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft Cooks This Year?
The Cowboys ranked fourth in pass rate over expectation, allowing Cooks to have reasonable fantasy value despite ranking fourth on this team in receptions. In his 10th NFL season with his fifth franchise, he produced six top-24 weeks, doubling his mark from 2022 with the Houston Texans and proving to us that he has some gas left in the tank.
Dallas outscored their opponents by an average of 26.75 points in their first 4 games last season.
Brandin Cooks averaged 4.2 FPPG in those contests (his first 4 games in a new system).
Over his last 12 games, he averaged 13.02 FPPG (WR30).
He is being drafted as WR56.🔨 pic.twitter.com/6E6IANmVQz
— Kevin Adams (@MagicSportsGuy)
The sheer volume of passes thrown in this offense was a stabilizing force. Cooks saw 16 end-zone targets in 2024 (fifth-most in the league, more than Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown), his first season with more than 10 — and 10 above his season average entering last year.
That’s a nice stat for 2023, but I’m not sure how much weight it carries for 2024. The 5’10” receiver relied on an outlier season in terms of scoring opportunities, something I’m less likely to project into this year to overcome a significant dip in efficiency.
Last year, Cooks averaged just 1.25 yards per route run, ranking him 53rd of 59 qualified receivers and in the same tier as fantasy afterthoughts in Tyler Boyd and Wan’Dale Robinson.
That is the sort of stat that hints at Father Time closing in (his third straight season of decline in that regard), and if more Dallas drives are finished off with rushing scores this season (Tony Pollard was about as inefficient in scoring situations as any in recent memory last season), Cooks’ profile carries far more risk than reward.
The current ADP isn’t prohibitive, and, in the 12th round, you could do worse. That said, receivers like Mike Williams, Jahan Dotson, and Dontayvion Wicks all interest me more.
We know what Cooks is and where his role is going to settle. Those other three receivers have access to upward-trending offenses with the type of upside that can allow them to swing a matchup the few times you call upon them.
I like to layer my risk profile as I navigate drafts. I open up with as much stability as I can get and gradually take on more chances as the draft progresses.
Cooks’ profile doesn’t fit what I’m trying to accomplish in redraft formats. There are situations in which gaining access to an elite offense makes sense — I’m just finding different ways to do it.
Receivers that have my interest in the Cooks neighborhood or later are:
- Rashid Shaheed
- Gabe Davis
- Michael Wilson
- Ja’Lynn Polk
Jason Katz’s Fantasy Analysis on Brandin Cooks
Cooks finished as the WR43 last season. He’s currently being drafted as the WR68. Based on the Cowboys’ offensive situation, it’s a near guarantee that Cooks will outperform his ADP. Yet, that doesn’t necessarily make him an appealing target in fantasy drafts.
Cooks was third on the Cowboys in targets last season behind Lamb and Jake Ferguson. There’s a chance he could be second this season. Yet, it’s hard to envision him being an impactful fantasy asset.
I have Cooks ranked as my WR60, perfectly in line with consensus. Even though I’m confident he will finish higher than that, I’m not willing to draft him above that spot, and I’m really not interested in him at all.
Outside of very deep leagues, there’s not much value in getting WR4 production from WR5s or WR6s. Sure, it’s more than what you paid for. But it’s still not fantasy-starter-level performance.
It’s unlikely whoever we draft around where Cooks goes is going to matter in fantasy. That player will probably be on the waiver wire by the end of September. So, we might as well take a chance on someone that at last has a shot at top-36 production or better.
We know what Cooks is. The last WR on your roster should be chasing upside. That’s simply not Cooks.
