Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks has fully embraced his role as a veteran leader in the locker room en route to the 2024 NFL season.
With CeeDee Lamb absent from OTAs, Cooks has consistently been there for the young receivers on the locker room after taking projected WR3 Jalen Tolbert under his wing during the offseason to help him take the next step.
"He's ready to go, whatever the expectation is for him out there," Cooks confidently said about Tolbert." I'm telling you, he's going to crush it. He's ready, and I look forward to him being able to get that opportunity."
That confidence comes from his witnessing Tolbert's work ethic, which has been consistently praised by teammates and coaches since the receiver took on the mission to rebound from an underwhelming rookie year which he ended with two catches.
"The way that he goes to work," Cooks told reporters when asked why he was confident about Jalen. "I'm a firm believer that the harder you work, when you have a great work ethic, it's going to pay off. And I think you've seen that over the last couple of years, and I think that time is now for him."
Cooks also claims Tolbert "isn't shy" anymore, and that his knowledge of the game is evident on the playing field.
Cooks' advice isn't limited just for Tolbert though as Cooks talks about the entire wide receiver room having a strong opportunity this offseason to stand out and learn from Dak Prescott.
"It's huge during this time of the year, right?" Cooks said. "To be able to get these valuable reps, especially for these young guys that just came in or guys that may not have gotten many reps last year. These are important to be able to create that timing so you're not waiting until training camp. I just tell them to get all you can out of this time, take it seriously. If you’ve got to grab Dak, this time is very important from that aspect and for creating that relationship with your quarterback."
But Brandin Cooks is more than just that ol' veteran playmaker turned teacher
Even though Cooks isn't shying away from being the veteran who can dish out advice to all the young players on the squad, he knows very well he's far from just that. Categorizing him as such after a 657-yard, 8-touchdown season would be silly. Specially when considering he was much better in the back-half of the year.
"I'm ready to rock," said Cooks, sending a reminder that he can still be a playmaker. "Don't get me wrong, I'm a leader, but at the same time, I'm a playmaker. In my mindset, I just look forward to getting this season going and hitting that stride like I know I'm capable of in this offense. I'll lead from a teammate standpoint and go out there and make a lot more plays than I did last year."
And hey, Cooks has a strong reason to believe he'll be better this year: He's not the new kid on the block anymore.
"For me, personally, just having a season under my belt, started slow that first half of the season but picked it up," Cooks said. "I think overall, as a team, we also know what we have. Being able to tune out the noise, tune out the distraction, and continue to just focus on the task at hand and let everything else take care of itself."
