Houston Texans: 3 Possible Trade Destinations for Brandin Cooks

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers find themselves at 4-2 and right in the thick of things when it comes to the AFC playoff picture. They’re second in the AFC West behind only the Las Vegas Raiders. On the surface, it might not seem like they would need a receiver like Brandin Cooks. After all, they have 4-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and former top-10 overall draft pick Mike Williams on their roster. They are also seventh in the NFL in passing yards per game at a healthy 282.8.

But if you dig a little deeper you can see why they might want to bring in a proven burner like Brandin Cooks. As far as numbers go, the Los Angeles Chargers aren’t generating as many big plays as they like. They’re 21st in the NFL out of 32 teams in average passing yards per attempt. Also, while their top two receivers Allen and Williams are solid players, they’re bigger more possession-type wide receivers. This is a similar issue that the Packers run into with too many big receivers.

The Chargers could also use a solid third receiver, because, as of right now, they don’t really have one. Mike Williams and Keenan Allen have 33 and 39 catches respectively, and no other wide receiver has more than nine. Jalen Guyton and Joshua Palmer are the Chargers’ third and fourth receivers, and they only have a combined 15 catches for 179 yards.

Adding a legitimate and established deep threat like Brandin Cooks would allow them to run more three wide receiver sets and likely change how teams have to defend their passing attack as a whole. It also helps that the Chargers have already had their bye week, so they could maximize their return on any Cooks deal by playing him every week until the end of the season. For a draft pick or two headed the Houston Texans way, Brandin Cooks could be just the player the Los Angeles Chargers have been looking for to energize their aerial attack.