Cooks leads cast of unknowns
Receiving corps loaded with new faces one of many questions for rebuilding team to answer
Two years ago, when the Texans were preparing for their sixth training camp under Bill O’Brien, their starting receivers were DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.
Hopkins and Fuller were former first-round draft choices who provided the offense with a pair of dangerous receivers the equal to almost any twosome within the NFL.
The Texans were coming off an 11-5 record, a nine-game winning streak, an AFC South title and a disappointing wild-card playoff loss to division-rival Indianapolis at NRG Stadium.
Third-year quarterback Deshaun Watson was coming off his first full season as the starter, a season in which he overcame a punctured lung and broken rib, producing one of the most courageous performances in team history. His favorite targets were Hopkins and Fuller.
Fast forward two years, when the Texans are preparing for their first camp under new general manager Nick Caserio and coach David Culley. Unfortunately for the Texans, Watson, Hopkins and Fuller won’t be there.
Hopkins is long gone, traded to Arizona by O’Brien after the 2019 season. Caserio elected to not re-sign Fuller, who signed with Miami. Watson demanded to be traded after the 2020 season and is swamped with legal issues, including 22 civil lawsuits and an NFL investigation into sexual harrasment and assault.
Texans fans can long for the days when they knew who their starting quarterback and wide receivers would be and focused their worries on other positions that needed the most help.
Now the Texans need help at just about every position. Going into Culley’s first camp, they know Tyrod Taylor is the starting quarterback. And they know Brandin Cooks will be one of the starting receivers.
In his first season with the Texans, including 15 starts, Cooks was the team’s most productive receiver with 81 catches for 1,150 yards (14.2-yard average per catch) and six touchdowns.
In the interest of fairness, it should be pointed out that O’Brien traded the Texans’ second-round pick (57th overall) to the Rams to acquire Cooks because he had the Cardinals’ second-round selection (40th overof all). The Rams drafted receiver Van Jefferson, and the Texans took defensive lineman Ross Blacklock.
One reason O’Brien made the trade for Cooks was a recommendation by Jack Easterby, the executive vice president of football operations. Easterby had grown close to Cooks during the receiver’s one season with New England in 2017.
O’Brien and Easterby have been ridiculed repeatedly, but they deserve credit for orchestrating the Cooks trade.
As we get closer to the start of camp on July 27 and the first workout a day later, let’s assume Culley and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will have three receivers on the field for most of the first game against Jacksonville on Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium.
With Cooks penciled in at one outside spot, the Texans will use camp and preseason to determine what players get the majority of playing time at the other two positions.
Let’s say veterans Randall
Cobb and Keke Coutee will be the primary contenders for slot duty. Cobb missed the last six games of 2020, and Coutee took advantage it to produce more consistently than any time in his career. He’s entering the last year of his contract and has a lot to prove to get a second contract.
There should be a casting call in camp to see who starts opposite Cooks. Ideally, Nico Collins would be ready to play, but that’s not likely.
Adjustments for rookie receivers are difficult enough because of the mental and physical tolls most aren’t prepared for, but Collins opted out of his last season at Michigan. That should make his transition into the NFL even more challenging.
Caserio traded two draft choices to move back into the third round to get Collins. At 6-4, 215 and a 40-yard dash time of 4.41 at Michigan’s pro day, Collins has terrific size and speed to play outside. In his last two seasons with the Wolverines, he combined for 75 catches, 1,361 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“He’s (done) a good job of learning the offense,” Kelly said after the offseason program. “Making that transition, it’s a totally different game, especially for a guy who didn’t play last year. He’s done a great job. He’s in great shape, and he’s really learning the offense. He’s been impressive.”
Coaches, teammates and fans will watch Collins closely in camp and preseason games to see how much he’s capable of playing when the Jaguars come to Houston.
“Really liked his size (and) his speed (and he) plays physical,” new receivers coach Robert Prince said about Collins. “(He) has a large catching radius. Just something to add to our receiving corps.”
Of the eight new receivers acquired by Caserio, including six veterans with a combined 38 years of NFL experience, Chris Conley, Donte Moncrief and Andre Erickson would seem to be the most likely to earn substantial playing time.
Conley, 6-3, 205, made eight starts with Jacksonville during the last two seasons. He had 47 catches for 775 yards (16.5 average) and five touchdowns in 2019. Last season, he caught 40 for 471 (11.8) and two scores.
Moncrief, 6-2, 216, hasn’t played a full season since 2018 when he had 48 receptions for 668 yards (13.9 average) and three touchdowns for the Jaguars.
Erickson, 6-0, 195, started eight games for Cincinnati the last two seasons, combining for 55 catches, 668 yards and no touchdowns. He had one touchdown reception in his five seasons with the Bengals.
Veterans Chris Moore, who played for Culley at Baltimore, and Taywan Taylor, who began his career at Tennessee, also are competing for jobs.
One thing Prince knows from coaching his players during the offseason program is having Cooks and Cobb has been invaluable to the learning process.
“Those two guys are definitely the leaders of the group,” Prince said. “Both of them are willing to take coaching. Some of the techniques we’re doing now are different than what they’re used to, and they’re buying in, which helps with the whole group.”
And the Texans are going to need help because they have so many new players to incorporate into a system that lacks the star power the offense used to have with Watson, Hopkins and Fuller.