Brandin Cooks sets big goal for debut Cowboys season

Brandin Cooks plans to get back to being a 1,000-yard receiver during his first season with the Dallas Cowboys. 

"A lot has to come with that," Cooks said about his goal during an NFL Network appearance, as shared by Kevin Patra of the league's website. "At the end of the day, like I said earlier, we've got some special guys throughout the offense, all the offensive weapons we have, I'm just going to do my best to the best of my ability, and when we look up at the end of the season, we'll see where we're at."

According to ESPN stats, Cooks led the Houston Texans with 57 catches, 93 targets and 699 receiving yards across 13 games in 2022. He seemingly did all he could to force an exit from Houston last fall amid that club's latest rebuild but instead had to wait until March to receive the trade he desired. 

Throughout his NFL career that began when the New Orleans Saints made him a first-round draft pick in 2014, Cooks has tallied six 1,000-yard seasons, doing so with the Saints, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Texans. In Dallas, he will have head coach Mike McCarthy serving as the team's offensive play-caller following the departure of former Dallas offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. 

"I mean, obviously, we've just had spring to get going, but the biggest thing that I noticed is it's fast-paced," Cooks said about the Dallas offense. "Like we wanna get to the ball, coach McCarthy talks about attack, not waiting and sitting back, but going on attack, and that's what I noticed throughout practices, throughout throwing sessions this offseason. So the faster, the better, so I'm all for that."

Cooks made it known this spring he has "no ego" as it pertains to sharing targets with Cowboys teammates such as CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Whether or not that mentality will prevent the veteran from reaching the 1,000-yard mark he's chasing shall be seen.