Brandin Cooks

Childhood and Highschool
Brandin Cooks was born on 25th September, 1993, in Stockton, California. Cooks developed his drive as a result of losing his father at age 6, and the family struggles that they underwent. He joined Lincoln High School in Stockton where left impressive records. In his senior year alone, he recorded 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and a total of 11 touchdowns. According to Rivals.com, Cooks ranked 26th among the best wide receivers and 240th as an overall prospect in his class.

College
Initially, Cooks had committed to attending University of California, Los Angeles and playing college football there. He later changed and went to Oregon State University. At Oregon State University, Cooks played at the wide receiver position. His college highlights video is available online. Some of his collegiate awards and honors include Biletnikoff Award, Hawaii Bowl Champion, and Consensus All-American. With 24 touchdowns, Brandin Cooks is also the 1st all-time career receiving touchdowns at his alma mater. He is also the 2013 NCAA front-runner in yards received as well as the 2013 Pac-12 leader in receiving touchdowns with 16 touchdowns in that year.

NFL Draft
At the 2014 NFL Draft Combine, New Orleans Saints selected Cooks as the 20th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft. New Orleans Saints gave their picks for the first and third rounds to Arizona Cardinals, trading up from the 27th spot. At the same NFL Draft Combine, Adidas awarded Cooks $ 100,000 after he ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the company’s cleats.  His 40 time on the occasion stood at 4.33 seconds and also recorded a high vertical leap. Weighing 190 pounds and with a height of 5’ 10” at the time, he ranked second among all the performers. You can view Cooks’ full draft profile here. 

2015 NFL Season
When 2015 began, Saints had Cooks as the team’s number one wide receiver. He began the season strongly coming back from a wrist injury that had cut short his rookie season. In a game against Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5, he recorded 5 catches for 107 yards and had a touchdown. Cooks would go ahead to finish the year with a total of 84 catches for 1,138 yards and 9 touchdowns. This impressive performance saw him lead the team in all the categories.

2016 NFL Season
Before the new season started, some internet outlets had pegged Cooks as a player who would break out. Brandin Cooks lived up to the hype that had been created on the internet, with 6 catches for a personal high of 143 yards and two touchdowns in the first week.
A summary of his performance in 2016 is available through his 2016 highlights video.
Personal life
After his father had died of heart attack when he was 6 years old, Cooks and his three older brothers were raised by their mother, Andrea Cooks. Brandin Cooks’ Twitter handle is @brandincooks while his Instagram handle is @thearcher10.
Brandin Cooks is currently on a four-year contract worth $ 8,383,452 with the New Orleans Saints. The contract includes $ 4,417,056 in signing bonus with $ 7,601,853 guaranteed and an average annual salary of $ 2,095,863.
For Brandin Cooks’ Jersey and Autograph sale, click here.
He dons jersey number 10 for Saints and has a current Madden 17 rating of 83, securing him a spot among the top 20% wide receivers.