Around 10 years ago, there were a series of corny commercials…..
Corny or not, I’m writing about it 10 years later so mission accomplished. Well done, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry. Well done. If you’d like to be a sponsor of my work, have your people get in touch with my people (me) and we can be of the same people. Going to Jared The Galleria of Jewelry allowed one to buy the bling and denounce the life of fling after fling. A happy wife is a happy life after all. For fantasy football, there’s also a Jared who could bring many smiles and happiness, and his name is Jared Cook of the Los Angeles Chargers. Let’s break down why he could be a pleasant surprise for the 2021-22 NFL season.
Cook is 33 years old, 6-foot-6, and 254 pounds. He was selected in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. After four seasons, he signed with the St. Louis Rams and played three years there. In 2016, he signed a one-year deal with the Green Bay Packers then took his talents to Oakland for two seasons. After that, he went to New Orleans, where he played two seasons then signed a one-year deal with the Chargers this past offseason.
His PlayerProfiler page is very impressive: 4.5 40-yard dash with 97th percentile ratings in speed and burst scores along with catch radius. The only blemish is the 24th percentile in agility score. He’s a grizzled veteran so many of those numbers have likely come down but he’s still an athletic specimen and a matchup nightmare.
Throughout his career, he’s received over 90 targets two times and has exceeded 800 yards once. His high in touchdowns was nine back in 2019. He’s coming off two seasons in New Orleans in which he received 65 and 60 targets while scoring nine and seven touchdowns.
His career catch rate is 60.4%, which is #not good. For perspective, Robert Tonyan led all tight ends with an 89.6% catch rate while Darren Waller and Travis Kelce were at 73%. That said, Cook has a career 13.2 yards per reception number and two years ago, he posted 16.4 yards per reception. George Kittle and Kelce were at 13.2 last season.
So, there’s good and there’s bad.
Now, I’m an elite tight end drafter. I believe getting one of Kelce, Waller, and Kittle provides a tremendous advantage and frees up a roster spot to take a dart throw on another wide receiver or running back. That said, if I’m paying down at the position, Cook seems mighty juicy to me.
First of all, he’s being drafted as the 23rd tight end and 182nd overall player in NFFC drafts from July 1 to August 8. Rudy has him as the 15th-best tight end this year.
Second, Rudy has Justin Herbert attempting 623 passes, good for sixth-most. Keenan Allen garnered 146 targets last season while Mike Williams was at 85. There are still a ton of targets to go around. Last year, Hunter Henry received 93 targets and he missed the last two games. Check out his targets per game: 8, 8, 7, 4, 8, 7, 4, 7, 6, 7, 10, 2, 8, and 7. Humana humana humana. Henry is no longer on the team and Cook should slide right into his role.
Finally, Allen led the team with 19 red-zone targets last season. Henry was second with 17. Humana humana humana humana humana.
Playing with a good quarterback? Check. Opportunities? Check. Is the risk/reward ratio favorable? Check.
