Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, or Brandin Cooks seemed like the top three wide outs the Dallas Cowboys would sign this offseason.
Cooks was ultimately purchased by Dallas from the Texans in exchange for picks in rounds five and six in 2023. Houston requested the Cowboys to get the remainder of his salary as well as a third- or second-round pick prior to the 2022 trade deadline.
Cooks’ draught compensation was a steal for Dallas, and the Texans will cover $6 million of his salary for the upcoming season.
Hopkins was willing to be traded to North Texas, but it seemed unlikely that the Cowboys would ever agree to Arizona’s terms of a player and a second-round pick. The same is true for Jerry Jeudy, who the Broncos allegedly desired in exchange for a first-round pick in 2023 or a high second-round pick.
Dallas, who were previously thought to be the favourites to sign Odell Beckham Jr., are no longer in the running after signing Cooks.
Cowboys Sign Cooks, End Pursuit of Beckham Jr
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Firstly, let me state that Beckham would have been a fantastic addition for the Cowboys. He wouldn’t have required any draught capital, and given that Mike McCarthy’s offence traditionally makes extensive use of slants, his track record as a dominant slant route runner made him an ideal fit on paper.
Having said that, signing Beckham, who recently underwent his second ACL surgery on the same knee, would have involved a lot of risk. Although his most recent exercise was impressive, he will turn 31 in the middle of the following season, and it is unknown how he will perform over the course of a 17-game schedule.
The last time Beckham produced statistics that were comparable to those of a real WR1 was in 2019, his last complete season before this one. Even though CeeDee Lamb is the Cowboys’ top receiver, Beckham is demanding compensation comparable to that of a WR.
Odell himself acknowledged in a tweet that the reports of him wanting $20 million were exaggerated, but you have to believe he’ll still get $12 million per year or more given that Jakobi Meyers, who is the player’s half-brother, signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Raiders ($11 million annually), including $21 million in guarantees.
Despite Cooks’ greater safety for Dallas, Beckham may have a larger upside than the latter. He seldom loses time due to injury and has had two 1,000-yard seasons in the last three years (for a total of six in his career).
It’s reasonable to argue that Cooks is the superior and more dependable player at this juncture in their careers. He only cost the team two low-round draught picks, will be owed $12.8 million by 2023, and has no further guaranteed income after the 2019–20 campaign.
Copium isn’t anything like this, either
As we have indicated, Beckham would have been a fantastic addition for the Cowboys, and it would be great for the NFL if he returned to relevance (hopefully in the AFC). Yet given the danger, we’re more than happy for Cooks to step in as the Robin to Lamb’s Batman.
