The Patriots have traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Rams, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The deal will see Cooks and a fourth round pick head to Los Angeles. In return, the Pats will receive a first-round pick and a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. 
The Pats now have the No. 23 overall pick in the draft to pair with their original selection at No. 31. With those two selections, the Pats could conceivably explore trades to get into the top half of the first round or keep them in order to fill multiple urgent needs. Further down the line, the Patriots also own two second round picks at Nos. 43 and 63.
The Rams have been extremely aggressive this offseason and Cooks is just the latest high-profile addition, joining the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. In recent weeks, the Rams have been tied to Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr., but they have found a different standout wide receiver in Cooks. The Pats, meanwhile, could hypothetically turn their attention to OBJ now that they are armed with two first-round picks, but that apparently is not in the cards.
Cooks may not be of the very top tier of wide receivers like OBJ, but he’s not far off. The former first-round pick does not turn 25 until September and has three consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons under his belt. Last year, he set a new career high with 16.6 yards per reception while finding the end zone seven times.
Cooks will now serve as the Rams’ top receiver, arguably giving the team an upgrade over the departed Sammy Watkins. Robert Woods and rising sophomores Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds will return and the Rams may still look to improve that group between now and the fall.
Cooks is set to enter the option year on his rookie deal, worth $8.459MM. The Rams can continue to control him through the 2019 season with the franchise tag, but he’ll probably seek out a fresh multi-year pact. Knowing the Patriots, it’s likely that Bill Belichick & Co. were wary of having to extend him given the boom of the WR market this year.
You can now add wide receiver to the Patriots’ list of needs as they approach the draft in April. As it stands, Chris Hogan, Julian Edelman, Kenny Britt, and Phillip Dorsett comprise the top of the team’s wide receiver depth chart. While there’s potential there – particularly in Britt and Dorsett – the Pats presently lack a strong No. 1 WR type for Tom Brady to target. Brady will also be without the services of Danny Amendola, who left New England after five seasons to sign with the rival Dolphins.
[RELATED: Rams Depth Chart]
Weird.
When’s the last time a guy was traded for 1st round pick two years in a row? I’m going to bet it’s never happened before.
As an Eagles fan who already thought the repeat wasn’t going to happen, now knows it is not going to happen. Unless the Rams fold like all the Redskin teams that loaded up in the offseason and flopped, the NFC goes through them. Just wow.
You think adding cooks is the move that puts them over the edge?? All he is doing is replacing Sammy Watkins who they lost so this move is not that much of an improvement for them from last year. With that being said I think they are better then the eagles regardless
I think he means Cooks replacing Watkins on top of the additions of Suh, Talib, and Peters makes the Rams the favorite going into next season, and i don’t disagree
I doubt he is referring to just the cooks trade. Adding Suh, Peters, Talib, and cooks to go along with what they already have makes them a serious threat beyond what they already were last year.
These guys get it. Rams going all in and don’t seem to be stopping.
Better than the Eagles? The Eagles won despite many key injuries, they will be better than they were last year.
Sammy can’t compare to Cooks.
Let’s consider who was throwing to them. Sammy had who? Cooks has had Brees and Brady.
97 Marlins and the 09 Yankees. Other than that I can’t think of a team that “won the off season” and hoisted a trophy months later.
2017 Patriots
Oh wait they lost
Brad you are dumb. Eagles fans should know what makes a good team.
Rams D will be pathetic and will get owned over the long haul of not only a season, but even a game.
Their offense surely looks to be good, but that D is overrated and has no backers or cycle d-liners.
Its fun to watch them build it, but it will be more fun to watch it all fall apart.
Pats now have 2 1st round picks and 2 2nd round picks. They may be planning to package a few of those to move and and take Baker Mayfield, who they are in love with to sit and learn behind Brady and eventually be his replacement
Why in the world would the Pats give up picks they got to move up to take a QB when they traded one in Jimmy G to get one of those draft picks. If they do this then to me it’s obvious someone wanted him gone.
yeah, Brady wanted him gone. only reason they dumped Jimmy G was he was at the end of his rookie deal and didn’t want to continue to sit on the bench
Not it at all. Jimmy was at the end of his contract and the pats can’t afford to pay him starter dollars to back up Brady. Needed to cash in while they can.
Interesting that the Pats would choose to send him to the Rams. They’re the top competition next year.
Not in the AFC
Right but I think Pats-Rams is probably the Super Bowl next year
Rams have a lot of guys they need to pay in the next few years
Cross that bridge when they get there
You forgot Malcolm Mitchell on the depth chart….
Cooks is young and productive, but I just don’t see him being worth a first rounder (especially this year as opposed to last year, when he’s about to want a long-term deal). Clearly the Rams felt differently, but I personally wouldn’t be willing to give up that much for him even though he’s still a really solid player.
I also think it’s interesting that the Rams are pretty much completely disregarding high draft choices. The guys they’re trading them for (Cooks and Peters) are still young, but I could easily see future issues with a lack of incoming rookie talent, cap issues, or both.
Really, Cooks has 3 consecutive 1000 yard years, pretty good don’t ya think.
They want to win now and the guys they got are still in their 20’s.
No brainer
I agree that it’s a move worth making but to simply call it a no brainer means you’re probably ignoring everything else I said
The more prudent idea here (which Bellichek gets) is that those high draft picks can generate first rate starters at wide receiver and running back (even offensive line, although the guys get better with time) who cost almost nothing, allowing you to pay your defence and your linemen and win divisions and playoff games.
The Rams are going to be out of cap space and fall apart within a season or two. 2018 should be interesting though. Like George Allen, they’ve mortgaged their future for today though (Allen did the same thing to the Rams in the late sixties and then the Redskins in the seventies: famous catchprhase “the future is now” dates from this epoch).
I gotta feeling they’re gonna sign Jordan Matthews or draft Christian Kirk in the second round. I wouldn’t mind them trying to trade up with the browns or broncos to get Chubb if he gets past the giants at 2 or taking Davenport
Indianapolis at 6 would seem like a good target for them because Indy has so many needs I could see them trading back again and there should still be a good QB or another elite talent available.
Indy is not going to trade with NE. They already got screwed by the Pats this offseason. They aren’t going to gamble on being screwed again.
I’m not so sure the Pats would do any deal with the Colts.
Their MO is signing Bills free agents…
Historically with Bellichick, he trades out of first round for volume mid to late round picks. I wouldn’t expect them to deviate away from what he does, with the defensive needs, as well as on oline being pretty obvious. I still think they move Gronk as he’s wearing on anyone that doesn’t own his jersey. Guy’s turned into kind of an immature selfish jerk. Bellichick and Brady are an integral part of his career numbers and trying to go toe to toe with the head coach, especially one of caliber as Bill, it usually doesnt end well. There has been a lot of big names in New England during their tenure, that commanded contract extensions, dragged the story through the press and made vague threats and faded into obscurity…ask Seymour, Law, Collins how well that worked out. You buy in or you dont. if you don’t, you play for the Raiders, Cardinals and the Browns
My guess is they take a tackle in the first round, and trade back with the other pick for a second rounder plus.
Denzel Ward CB and Hayden Hurst TE, mark it down. Orlando Brown in the 2nd.
Denzel Ward isn’t dropping that far down the draft. The Pats would need to trade up to get him.
Corners slip. Just like Lattimore – Top 5 consensus before the draft, goes 11th. Guys slip, unexpected guys rise – Eli Apple to the Giants was an overdraft. I do have Jackson (Packers) and Davis (Seahawks) going ahead of Ward.
Except the raiders and 49ers are both in need of corners and have been heavily linked to ward. Oh and have top 10 picks…
Confusing trade for the Pats. Clearly he’s a good WR and he helps the team a lot not to mention who knows how Edelman will be when he comes back. I know people are saying the Pats don’t intent to try to trade for OBJ but I’m not buying it. You don’t make this love without something else in mind.
If they couldn’t agree to a deal with Cooks, why would they trade for OBJ?