FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots held their first training camp practice on July 27, and as coach Bill Belichick recently said, this is the time of year when some players can be banged up from a five-week stretch of football.
But don’t count receiver Brandin Cooks in that group.
“I feel amazing. I’m 23 years old,” Cooks said Monday with a smile. “I feel like I’m playing Pop Warner again, just running around, having fun.”
Cooks was always going to be a big part of the Patriots’ 2017 plans after the club acquired him in a March trade from the New Orleans Saints. But now that Julian Edelman is out for the season with a torn right ACL, the Patriots will need Cooks more than ever.
Like other players in the locker room Monday, Cooks balanced empathy for Edelman with the bottom-line understanding that players also need to move on without him.
“Very unfortunate, a guy like that; a warrior who works so hard ... ” he said. “At the same time, we know we have to get ready, to keep the wheels turning and do what we have to do to make up for that.”
Cooks' wheels always seem to be turning, which is part of the reason the Patriots were willing to give up a first-round draft choice (No. 32 overall) as part of a deal to acquire him. To this point, he has passed the first test for any newcomer into the team’s system by not missing a practice.
That, among other things, has been noted by Belichick.
“Brandin’s in good condition, been out there every day, works hard, runs hard,” Belichick said. “So he looks good.”
If Edelman were healthy, the Patriots would have a projected top three of Edelman, Cooks and Chris Hogan on the receiver depth chart, with Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell filling it out. Edelman’s injury likely will thrust Cooks and Hogan into the top two spots, where they might be relied upon even more than anticipated.
Cooks has two catches for 15 yards in two preseason games, playing 48 snaps. He dropped a pass Friday in a win over the Detroit Lions, and hasn’t had a major impact in games.
That figures to change come the regular season.
Asked how he’d describe his transition into the Patriots’ system, Cooks turned to education.
“It’s like school," he said. "If you pay attention, you’ll get good grades. You’ll get the answers right."