Brandin Cooks, Bills
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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Denver Broncos.
There is still more work to be done.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report listed Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks as an option for the New York Jets to consider signing in free agency.
“The Jets are fifth in the league in available cap space with $35.6 million and badly need a wide receiver to pair with Garrett Wilson. But the free-agent crop at that position wasn’t great to open free agency, and the position is pretty picked-over at this point,” Davenport wrote.
“Signing veteran wideout Brandin Cooks isn’t going to make many headlines. But even if the Jets use the pick obtained in the Sauce Gardner trade to grab a wideout at No. 16 overall, their depth at the position is still all but non-existent,” Davenport bluntly stated.
Getting Into the Numbers
Cooks, 32, will turn 33 during the 2026 season.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound pass catcher entered the league as the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
He has played for six teams during his NFL career. Across his 12 years in the league, Cooks has appeared in 173 games and has made 149 starts.
With those opportunities, Cooks has been targeted 1,135 times for 9,811 receiving yards. He has caught 734 receptions and has scored 62 total touchdowns.
Cooks has slowed down significantly over the last couple of years. He isn’t the same 4.33 40-yard dash speedster he was coming out of Oregon State.
After getting over 1,000 receiving yards in six of his first eight seasons, Cooks hasn’t reached that plateau since 2021. Over the last four seasons, he has averaged 40 receptions, 474 receiving yards, and four touchdowns.
Cooks Would Provide Some Much Needed Depth in the WR Room
With all of that being considered, Cooks would still be an upgrade over a lot of the other players in the Jets’ WR room beyond Garrett Wilson.
According to Spotrac’s calculated market value, Cooks is expected to command a one-year $3 million contract in free agency. That would make Cooks the No. 63 highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
Adding depth to the room accomplishes multiple things for the Jets.
Firstly, it provides you with some insurance if Wilson gets hurt. Through the first three years of his career, Wilson never got hurt. He played in 51 out of 51 possible games. However, this past season, he finally got bitten by the injury bug.
The former Ohio State product missed the first 10 games of his NFL career. Having a pro’s pro like Cooks would give the Jets another option to fill the void left by Wilson.
Secondly, it acts as a cover for your intentions in the 2026 NFL draft. If most of your obvious holes are taken care of, the other teams around you won’t know what positions you’re looking at. That decreases the success rate of someone trying to snipe you on draft day.
Thirdly, Cooks is a competent professional wide receiver. If he is on the opposite side of the field from Wilson, he will have a chance to make some noise. If he makes enough of it, then defenses will have to respond which would be good news for everyone on offense.