With a Week 7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Houston Texans dropped to 1-4-1 on the season. Not that the team had playoff hopes going into the game, but with just over a week to go before the NFL trade deadline on November 1, the Texans need to start thinking about making some deals. A Brandin Cooks trade should be the highest priority on the franchise’s list right now. The veteran wide receiver has just 28 catches for 281 yards and a touchdown this season but still has value. Several teams have reportedly called the team to feel out the Texans trade willingness for Cooks. As the deadline approaches, here are the five best destinations for a Brandin Cooks trade.

5. New York Jets

A Texans trade with the New York Jets could be interesting because the teams could swap receivers straight up. Elijah Moore, the second-year, second-round pick voiced his displeasure last week with his role on the team and wants out. The Jets don’t want to give up a promising young wideout, but if they got a veteran to help them win now in return, they might feel different.

Moore is just 22 years old, so he would fit the Texans' timeline almost as well as a 2023 rookie WR. As for Cooks, he would join a surprising 5-2 Jets team that is now in the thick of a playoff race.

After rookie Garrett Wilson’s 28 catches for 314 yards, the next-best Jets WR is Cory Davis with 19 catches and then Moore with 16. Cooks could give Zach Wilson a dependable weapon as Gang Green tries to make a run for the postseason.

4. New York Giants

Speaking of surprising New York teams, the New York Giants are in a similar boat to the Jets. At 6-1 after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7, the G-Men are poised to become a playoff team for the first time since 2016.

The squad’s biggest problem right now is at wideout. Despite having the highly-paid Kenny Golladay and two high-round draft picks in Wan’Dale Robinson and Kadarius Toney, the team’s leading WRs are currently Richie James, whose 20 2022 receptions give him 58 in his four-year career. And Darius Slayton whose 11 catches this year put him second on the WR corps, per Pro Football Reference.

Brian Daboll’s recipe for winning involves limiting how much Daniel Jones throws anyway, but as the season goes on and the playoff race heats up, it would be nice to have a dependable WR like they’d have after a Brandin Cooks trade.

3. Los Angeles Chargers

The LA Chargers have two star receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but Allen can barely get on the field this season with injuries, and Williams may have picked up a knock that will cost him a few games in the Chargers Week 7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Brandon Staley, Justin Herbert, and the Chargers are getting desperate as they approach the midway point of the season. Yes, they are 4-3, but the offense hasn’t looked all that good since Week 1, and if Williams and Allen continue to miss time, things could go south quickly.

The Chargers are already paying WRs a lot of money, but if they can make a Brandin Cooks trade for the right price, he could be a half-season rental that pays off huge in 2022.

2. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams hate draft picks and tries to trade them as much as possible. A Rams-Texans trade for Brandin Cooks could be a good use of those picks because LA is struggling this season with the pass-catchers around Cooper Kupp.

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Texans owner Cal McNair

Benjamin Adducchio ·

Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford return from the team’s bye in Week 8 with a crucial matchup with NFC West rival the San Francisco 49ers. If the Rams lose that to drop to 3-4, the defending Super Bowl chance risk missing the playoffs this season.

Cooks would fit perfectly next to Kupp and allow Ben Skowronek and disappointing free-agent signing Allen Robinson to duke it out for the No. 3 role. The Rams will almost certainly make a deal before the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline, and a move for Cooks makes a lot of sense.

1. Green Bay Packers

The best destination for a Brandon Cooks trade is with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The franchise did a poor job replacing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the short term, and now Rodgers needs some help to get the offense back on track after a 3-4 start to the 2022 campaign.

Rodgers simply doesn’t trust his young receivers, and with Allen Lazard sitting out the dying minutes of Week 7 with a shoulder injury, the WR corps in Wisconsin may have become even thinner.

A Packers-Texans trade makes the most sense for Cooks because Green Bay simply needs him the most. Yes, Cooks would be another WR that Rodgers doesn’t have chemistry with yet, but the veteran wideout is used to having new QBs and developing a rapport quickly.