The New England Patriots have agreed to trade wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Patriots will also send a 4th round pick to the Rams. In exchange, Los Angeles will send the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and a 6th round pick to New England.
Last season, his first with the Patriots, Cooks had 65 receptions for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns. Cooks has 1,000 receiving yards & seven TDs in each of the last three seasons. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the only other player in the NFL to hit those marks every year since 2015 is Antonio Brown.
The 24-year old wideout, who is entering his fifth season in the NFL, will now join a Rams offense that led the NFL last season with an average of 29.9 points per game. Los Angeles was among the teams interested in trading for New York Giants Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr., but today's move will put an end to any speculation that OBJ is L.A. bound.
Meanwhile, the Patriots now have two picks in each of the first two rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft. With Tom Brady set to turn 41 years old before next season starts, there's reason to believe the Pats could trade some of their picks in order to move up in the draft and select one of the highly touted QBs as Brady's successor.