The Philadelphia Eagles will play the New England Patriots this Sunday for the title in Super Bowl 52. Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks is one player the Eagles will have to keep their eye on. New England gave up a boatload of draft picks to acquire Cooks that seemed to be a blessing for the Saints immediately boosting their young talent. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com is reporting that Philadelphia actually came close to trading for Cooks.
“The deal, scuttled at the last minute, was this: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks in exchange for Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, a third-round pick and two fourth-rounders.”
There’s no doubt that this trade would have made Philadelphia worse. The third round pick that would have been included was used to trade for Timmy Jernigan who has been one of the best defensive tackles in football. The deal also would have involved Mack Hollins who has been one of the best special teams players for Philadelphia.
Trading for Cooks probably also would have precluded them from signing Alshon Jeffrey as well. Cooks has had a great year racking up 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns but a deal would have depleted Philadelphia’s core defenders. The trade frankly hasn’t turned out well for New England either after New Orleans is now the home for the offensive (Alvin Kamara) and defensive (Marcus Lattimore) rookies of the year. Those players were part of a great draft class that New England essentially handed them.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman hasn’t been scared to pull the trigger on trades. Whether it’s the move to trade up for Carson Wentz or turn the bum Sam Bradford into a first and fourth round pick, Roseman has been on fire making decisions. When it comes to a potential Cooks deal, the hesitance to part with Malcolm Jenkins may have been the reason the deal didn’t come to fruition.
“People should be interested in Malcolm Jenkins,” Roseman told Sports Radio 94WIP when it was reported Jenkins was involved in trade talks. “He is a heck of a player. We don’t want to give him up.”
