Saints rookie receiver Brandin Cooks 'at a different speed'
To say the Saints are high on rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks — the 20th pick in the 2014 NFL draft out of Oregon State — would be an understatement.
"When you see a guy catch a pass and you see his first two steps look like he's about to run a 40-yard dash, you know that the guy is quick and fast," said New Orleans tight end Ben Watson, according to ESPN.com's Mike Triplett on Friday. "And when you get the ball to him and he learns what to do, there might be problems [for opposing defenses]. That's what we all saw from the first pass he caught.
"Everybody looked at each other like, 'Wow, this kid is definitely at a different speed.'"
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The 5-foot-10, 189-pound Cooks is small, but cornerback Keenan Lewis nicknamed him "Lightning" after Cooks burned him on an end-around.
"I haven't seen that kind of speed in a while," said outside linebacker Junior Galette, despite the Saints having plenty of team speed the last few years. "I didn't even see when he got the ball on that hand off. Just moving around, he can get into that last gear quick. His speed is obviously top tier in the league."
Cooks, 20, led the nation with a Pac-12 record 128 catches for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He also ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the combine.
- Chris Mascaro
