Bills sign Brandin Cooks

[hondo in seattle]

13 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

During the Beane draft years (2018-25), Coleman is the only premium draft pick (Rounds 1-3) used on a wideout. Valuing the 3 rounds at (8-5-3) a reasonable system IMO. Where do the Bills rank? They rank DEAD LAST in the NFL with 5 points!! An average NFL team spent 21 pts on WR. And basically all the top teams (KC, SF, BAL, GB) during this period spent over the average on WR. Even if you included the Traded First rounder for Diggs the Bills rank in the bottom quartile. He doesn't value receivers high enough and that's how you end up in the pickle we're in. And, yes he has not handled the cap well by resigning a bunch of his draft picks believing he had succeeded in drafting well.

 

That's a good observation.  I didn't know that we ranked last for WRs using that point system.  

 

Though we do have to consider Diggs.  We traded four picks to the Vikes to get Diggs if I recall correctly, including a #1.  Does that up our score to 13 points or more?  Even if it does, it's still under the 21-point average.  

 

As I see it now, we're both right.  Beane undervalues WRs and mismanages the cap.  He's not a great wideout talent evaluator either, overvaluing guys like Keon, Curtis Samuel, Kelvin Benjamin, etc.  

 

I have said in other posts that if you're lucky enough to have a unicorn QB, your two priorities as a GM ought to be getting him an elite OL bodyguard to protect him and capable WRs to throw to.  Beane has an unimpressive record in this regard, sometimes giving us one or the other, but never both at the same time.

[Warriorspikes51]

1 minute ago, bills742 said:

 

 

the dude stole Elijah's number? lol 

[Lost]

Just now, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

the dude stole Elijah's number? lol 

 

Welcome to Buffalo new Elijah Moore.  Same as the old Elijah Moore

[JP51]

Beane is doing whatever he can to improve the roster... he feels like this is the move... I have no idea...  should he have made a trade, acknowledge the failures... likely as long as we didnt get raked...  But, trade, no trade, sign Cooks, Shaq, Jordan, Jordan, etc.. is just not enough to I get he is trying, but what really changes when your problem is trying to solve for a lack of talent because of poor FA overpay signings and poor drafting, but signing middling players to replace the middling players you already have...  wheels on the bus... So, either Beane is replaced by someone who is much better at talent assessment, or Beane brings someone in who is better at talent assessment than him and allows them to do their job... I would prefer he was done... but we know that isnt happening likely, so the best that we can hope for is he self identifies his failure and brings in help. 

[billsfan89]

This is a desperate signing for a desperate team but one worth trying in my opinion. Cooks is 32 old but not an age where a WR cannot still have some athleticism left. He was last productive in 2023 with Dallas where he was a solid complementary outside WR. In 2024 his production plummeted largely due to injuries and Dak getting hurt.

 

He signed on with NOLA and was not very productive but that’s arguable the worst and certainly one of the worst QB situations in the league and a mess of a team.

 

There is a squint your eyes and lawyer it case for Cooks to be productive so I think it’s worth a shot at this point but I’m thinking while WR talent is an issue is the larger issue scheme?

Edited 2 hours ago by billsfan89

[stlbills13]

We're not that far away from rolling out Palmer, Coleman, and Shakir on Sunday just like it's opening night. For some reason there appears to be reluctance to sign Gabe to the active roster and then outside that it's Samuel (who never plays), Cooks (who got here today), and Shavers (who had as many yards as you and me last game)

[Warriorspikes51]

Just now, billsfan89 said:

This is a desperate signing for a desperate team but one worth trying in my opinion.

there's a somewhat decent chance he can at least clear gaps for other WR's  which he was doing quite a lot of for Olave and Shaheed 

 

 

 

[Big Turk]

Steelers have struggled badly against the 4 Verts concepts and have been burned repeatedly by them for big plays.

 

Would not be surprised to see him used in this way against them this week.

Edited 2 hours ago by Big Turk

[JP51]

6 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

Steelers have struggled badly against the 4 Verts concepts and have been burned repeatedly by them for big plays.

 

Would not be surprised to see him used in this way against them this week.

That is assuming Josh gets more than .03 seconds to throw

[TBBills Fan]

The fact that he has Moore's number, took Moore's job and has a similar skill set to Moore makes me a bit nervous.

 

I guess will find out if it's the player not doing their job or if their supervisor wasn't putting them in a position to do their job

 

I fear the latter

[billsfan89]

16 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

there's a somewhat decent chance he can at least clear gaps for other WR's  which he was doing quite a lot of for Olave and Shaheed 

 

 

 

One of the things Samuel did well against Tampa was run the clear out routes. The Bills do need that so I’m hoping he gives the Bills some more depth for guys to run the clear out routes and adds a vet to the WR room 

[Big Turk]

17 minutes ago, JP51 said:

That is assuming Josh gets more than .03 seconds to throw

 

He has had the most time to throw in his career this year.

[transient]

16 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

The Rams have drafted 1 guy in the first round (Jared Verse pick 19 in 2024) since taking Jared Goff with the first pick in 2016!!! I will almost guarantee no one has had less. They’ve certainly had the least top 100 picks in that time period. 

The Rams understand the opportunity cost of being a successful team and get more value out of trading the picks than they would drafting second round talent at the bottom of the first round, which is where they expect to be. 

[PrimeTime101]

21 hours ago, AlBUNDY4TDS said:

Ehh, too little, too late imo.

i defend my pukes... Cup Half Full. hes an upgrade to anything we have right now.. put a smile on your face

[AlBUNDY4TDS]

7 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

i defend my pukes... Cup Half Full. hes an upgrade to anything we have right now.. put a smile on your face

The fact that we are signing a dusty ass brandin cooks tells me all I need to know about the current state of the wr position.

 

It's  malpractice 

[JP51]

42 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

He has had the most time to throw in his career this year.

Repeat the performance of the O Line against the Texans and he wont get it down the field.... 

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, Lost said:

 

Welcome to Buffalo new Elijah Moore.  Same as the old Elijah Moore

 

Won't get fooled again!

 

1 hour ago, stlbills13 said:

We're not that far away from rolling out Palmer, Coleman, and Shakir on Sunday just like it's opening night. For some reason there appears to be reluctance to sign Gabe to the active roster and then outside that it's Samuel (who never plays), Cooks (who got here today), and Shavers (who had as many yards as you and me last game)

 

I'm not the biggest Gabe backer on the planet, but I'd rather see Gabe on the field than Keon.  Or Cooks.  Or Shavers. 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by hondo in seattle

[Gunsgoodtime]

2 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I'm not so sure.  Beane did sign Diggs for a lot of money and drafted Keon highly.  I think he values wideouts.

 

But I think Beane has managed the cap poorly.  I think we're overpaying for a bunch of players which meant that this past offseason when we needed WRs, Beane went shopping at Dollar Tree instead of Neiman Marcus.  

 

Dead last in use of draft picks for WRs in the league.  He values Wrs about as much as I value my hemmorhoids 

[Warriorspikes51]

https://billswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2025/11/26/things-know-buffalo-bills-brandin-cooks-saints-josh-allen-nfl/87480748007/

Cooks has played 159 snaps in the slot and 263 on the outside this season in 10 games with the Saints in 2025

This is great news.

 

If Keon is going to play, line Keon up inside. 
 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Warriorspikes51

[transplantbillsfan]

Did anyone watch Josh's PC from today?

 

Cooks is playing and I think he's going to be a decent part of our game plan.  Josh complemented him on his high football IQ and kinda smirked when he said he's already learned most of the playbook.  The playbook comment caught my attention because the way he said it he seemed pretty genuinely pleased by how much he knows already.  Others can comment on it, but it didn't seem like the standard throwaway comment he might make in a PC.