Is Brandin Cooks more like Deion Branch than Randy Moss?

FOXBOROUGH — We have spent the better part of the first 10 training camp practices comparing Brandin Cooks to Randy Moss in his ability to simply blow past a defense. And there was plenty of that Monday morning from the Tom Brady-Cooks connection, which roasted some Jacksonville defensive backs with deep balls in 11-on-11 work.

But as we also saw on Monday, there’s more to Cooks' game than just that flat-out speed. He’s also got some remarkable short-area quickness. On multiple occasions Monday, he was able to shake free of defensive backs with remarkable ease in red-zone passing drills. Managing to find some open room in such a tight space is a rare ability, but it’s clear he’s more than just a flat-out burner.



(Maybe we should have known by his impressive 3-cone time of 6.76 and 3.81 20-yard short-shuttle at the 2014 combine, but it’s easy to lose sight of the impressive change-of-direction ability when you watch him run. By way of example, NFL Next Generation stats clocked him at an amazing 21.89 MPH last year on one occasion.)

After practice Monday morning, Jacksonville cornerback A.J. Bouye spoke about what Cooks brings to the New England passing game.

“He adds that deep threat. Even when we were in post safety, you could see Brady was able to throw it over the post safety when Cooks outran the corner and safety,” he said. “Just the deep threat that he adds, you have to play a little bit softer. Even when you’re pressing you have to play on top. He adds great route craft. I feel like he’s going to make their DBs and us better this week.”

One alert Tweeter compared him to Deion Branch, which certainly makes sense, given the speed/quickness combination and overall size (Branch was 5-foot-9, 193 pounds, while Cooks is 5-foot-10, 189 pounds). Branch made his living in the New England offense with a variety of routes, including both intermediate and deep, all while using his impressive skill set. (He also managed to share a near-creepy level of ESP with Brady.)

In the end, Branch ended up sticking around Foxboro for two separate tours, playing a total of seven years with the Patriots and coming away with 328 regular-season catches for 4,297 yards and 24 touchdowns, to go along with a 13.1 yards per catch average and a pair of Super Bowl rings. If Cooks — who averaged 13.3 yards per reception in his first three years in the league with the Saints — ends up with the same sort of resume while in New England, the Patriots will almost certainly take those numbers.