Drew Brees raved about Brandin Cooks in message to Cowboys OC

Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees now is in his second year of retirement. But he’s still keeping up with all things NFL. It’s why he sent a message to new Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after Dallas traded for Brandin Cooks.

Now, the deal the Cowboys made was with the Texans, not the Saints, Brees’ former team. So why would Drew Brees contact Schottenheimer? Well, go back a couple of decades to Brees’ first team. He played for the San Diego Chargers from 2001 to 05. Schottenheimer was his quarterbacks coach for four of those seasons in San Diego.

Schottenheimer talked about the Brees’ text earlier this week.

“Drew Brees and I are very close,” the Cowboys offensive coordinator told reporters. “When we made the move to get Brandin, the very first text I got was from Drew. He was like, ‘You are gonna love this guy.’ And Drew is a hard guy to give out a lot of positive reinforcement.”

Brees also can personally attest to Cooks’ talents. The Saints selected Cooks in the first round back in 2014. At the time, Cooks was a speedster from Oregon State and fresh off a Pac 12 record-setting junior season.. New Orleans selected the receiver weeks after he ran a blistering 4.3-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. It’s difficult to argue with speed plus production. Cooks spent three prolific seasons catching passes from Brees. Then he moved on to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Cooks also has played for the Rams before moving onto the Texans. No matter where he lands, the receiver produces. He became the first player in league history to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in three consecutive years for a trio of different teams. So we’re thinking Drew Brees didn’t go out on a limb when he flipped a text to Schottenheimer earlier this year.

Play of the day during today’s Cowboys minicamp: This deep ball TD from Dak Prescott to Brandin Cooks pic.twitter.com/tWno3nmC41

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) June 7, 2023

Meanwhile, the Cowboys also are pleased with Cooks. He still has easy speed to complement all his veteran moves. Dallas finished mini camp, Thursday, as Cooks left a lasting impression.

“Yeah, (Cooks) has real speed,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters. “Runs the same way every time. I think that’s the most important thing. When you have speed like that, for him to be able to do it every play, every route, the start of every route, the cornerbacks, defense, they don’t know what they’re getting.”

But Cooks knows how fast he can sprint past a DB. “I mean, you never really know until you know,’’ Cooks said this week after he torched a couple of his own teammates. “I gave them a little taste to be like, ‘all right, it’s still there.’ “

And Drew Brees saw it all along.