The Real and Fantasy Football Impact of Brandin Cooks Signing With the Bills

Brandin Cooks was released by the Saints after a bit of a saga (in which they tried to outsmart the system), and he signed with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. Buffalo is short on pass-catching talent, so they have brought in a few veteran options who have mostly added little-to-no impact.

Mecole Hardman was put on IR after just one game, and Gabe Davis has been elevated from the practice squad the past two weeks but put up minimal stats, not making a real difference. Any potential upgrade is surely welcome.

Can Cooks make a difference, though? He hasn't done anything of note this season, but that came in one of the worst offensive environments in football, so there's hope that he can find some of his old magic in moving to a better team.

Let's look at Cooks and whether he can make a real impact on the Bills' championship aspirations. We'll also talk about his fantasy outlook in Buffalo and whether he is worth adding as a lottery ticket. Most stats are from NFL.com.

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Will Cooks Improve Buffalo's Passing Game?

Cooks totaled just 19 receptions for 165 yards in 10 games with New Orleans, an expected outcome for a 32-year-old receiver who joined maybe the worst quarterback situation in football. Cooks hasn't really had a good season by his standards since 2021, though he topped 650 yards in both 2022 and 2023 and scored eight touchdowns in '23.

The most likely outcome is that Cooks has a minor impact, getting on the field but never really becoming a big part of the offense. That's what happened with Amari Cooper last season, as Cooper never found a real role to produce.

Josh Allen is completing nearly 70% of his passes for 8.3 yards per attempt. Both numbers would be career highs, so it's not like he is struggling. The consternation about the lack of pass catchers in Buffalo is more about a lack of a high-level player who can be the top guy, like Stefon Diggs in previous seasons.

Is Cooks going to help raise the ceiling at all? That seems very unlikely. He hasn't had a catch as long as 30 yards since 2023, not showing a downfield element. With that profile, he needs to put up bulk shorter receptions to make a real difference, and I don't see Cooks averaging five-plus catches per game.

That means Buffalo's passing game and their offense will likely stay at the same level. If he makes a big catch in the playoffs, we will look back at this as a great pickup, but the more likely path is Cooks playing a modest role that doesn't move the needle much for the Bills.

Can Cooks Make a Fantasy Impact?

If the scenario I laid out above plays out, it would leave Cooks off the fantasy radar. He hasn't been anything close to a fantasy-relevant player in several seasons, so expecting him to come out of nowhere, even with an improved offense, is foolish.

We know that football age is calculated differently, kind of like dog years, and a 32-year-old receiver may as well be ancient. Guys fall off quickly at the skill positions when they lose a step; only the very best are able to keep producing far into their 30s.

Cooks' downturn is too sharp to ignore, as he was struggling with the Cowboys before moving to the moribund Saints. Buffalo also has other guys who will stay in front of him in the pass-catching hierarchy.

Khalil Shakir has operated as something of their WR1, while offseason addition Joshua Palmer has caught just over two passes per game. Keon Coleman, the 33rd overall pick in 2024, has been a healthy scratch the past two games after missing team meetings, and his status is unclear.

All three of those receivers might still play more than Cooks moving forward, and guys like Davis, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore, and Tyrell Shavers could all be involved in some way. That doesn't even include tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, who always have a role.

With so many guys in the rotation, the veteran Cooks is likely to see more limited opportunities and not enough volume to make a fantasy impact. This is more of a fun idea than a potential season-changing addition.

Where do the Bills Stand in the AFC?

If this doesn't change much about Buffalo's chances, then they are still a flawed Super Bowl contender. Their outlook isn't much different from the past few seasons, and that means we can expect the Bills to compete with anyone.

If they fall short again and don't get much out of the receivers, we could see a much bigger move in the offseason. If Buffalo breaks through and wins the championship, though, it might cause them to lean further into their current roster construction.