The New Orleans Saints made one big move this offseason, signing former Oakland Raiders tight end Jared Cook and giving Drew Brees another reliable option in the passing game.
Cook is coming off of the best season of his career, as he hauled in 68 receptions for 896 yards and six touchdowns in 2018.
So, on a new and much better team overall, is Cook worth targeting high up in Fantasy Football drafts?
The answer is yes.
One weakness in the Saints' offense last year was their lack of dependable pass-catchers outside of wide receiver Michael Thomas, who ended up snaring 125 balls on the season.
Ted Ginn Jr. missed most of the year with injuries, tight end Ben Watson was clearly not the same player, and the rest of New Orleans' receivers were clearly not ready. As a result, Brees basically had only Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara as his regular receiving threats, and while the Saints still managed to have one of the league's best offenses, the lack of versatility did hurt.
Now, Brees will get a big target in Cook, and based on Brees' history with guys like Jeremy Shockey and Jimmy Graham, we know he likes throwing the football to tight ends.
The problem is, Brees hasn't really had any good tight ends to throw to over the last three seasons, which has prevented a still-good Saints offense from truly reaching that next level. With Cook in the fold, Brees will have a terrific secondary option behind Thomas in the passing game, and you can bet that Cook will likely get a lot of targets from Brees.
Some might see Cook's 2018 campaign a classic case of a player putting up good numbers on a bad team, and the fact that Cook struggled in his one season with a contender in 2016 with the Green Bay Packers is seen as a supporting argument for that, but we have to consider the situation.
Cook is joining a New Orleans ball-club that was in desperate need of another option in the aerial attack, as evidenced by the fact that Thomas had to catch 125 passes this past year. No disrespect to Thomas, who is a phenomenal wide out, but that is too much focus on one guy.
It would not be the least bit surprising to see Cook equal or exceed his catch and yard output from 2018, but the difference is that this time around, he will have even more opportunities for touchdowns, so there is a great chance he outdoes his six-touchdown season from this past year.
No, Cook isn't Travis Kelce or George Kittle, but he should still be one of the top tight ends in fantasy this season due to the fact that there should be ample opportunity for him with the Saints, a team that loves to throw the football and can fill it up in a hurry.
The Saints may have lost Mark Ingram this offseason, but landing Cook is a huge move for the offense and will not only make Brees and Thomas better, but will make Cook a terrific option to take fairly high in Fantasy Football drafts.
Follow Us
Subscribe