Jared Cook a perfect fit for New Orleans Saints

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The excitement I saw from New Orleans Saints fans about the possibility of signing Jared Cook blew my mind.

As good as he was last season with the Oakland Raiders, the tight end will turn 32 before the season begins, and he’s now playing for his fifth team, which is typically an indication that teams recognize a player’s flaws.

Still, when NFL Network reported two weeks ago that Cook was visiting the Saints, the fan base went nuts. Then, the craziness grew when there were no reports about Cook for a week. Fans on Twitter went as far as to accuse reporters of withholding information as if that’s something we would do.

Precisely one week after the initial report of Cook visiting the Saints, Pro Football Talk reported the two sides were close to a deal. When that happened, I was at Wednesday at the Square, showing an out-of-town friend how great it is to see a band like Big Sam’s Funky Nation for free on a beautiful Wednesday night, but as news spread, I kept noticing people point to their phones and saying some variation of, “We got Jared Cook!”

Finally, Sean Payton announced the deal Tuesday (March 27), and after witnessing the hype from the fan base, I really wanted to write something to temper expectations. After all, most free-agent signings don’t work out nearly as well as expected, and an aging, journeyman tight end certainly would seem to have a reasonable chance to become a bad signing.

But I just can’t do it. Cook is a perfect fit with the Saints, and this offense is a perfect fit for his skills, which Cook said Wednesday was a key reason he wanted to come to New Orleans. He should make the offense significantly better next season, and he said he’s excited to have a chance to be a “huge” part of a prolific offense.

There are a couple reasons to be cautious about Cook’s production in 2019, but we’ll get to those later. For now, let’s look at why this signing will likely be a home run.

First, the Saints desperately needed another weapon in the passing game. As good as Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are, defenses realized in the final third of the 2018 season they could focus heavily on that duo because the other receiving threats were unlikely to burn them.

With Cook running down the seam or toward the first-down marker, the Saints will be able to make defenses pay for giving too much attention to Thomas and Kamara, and if teams appropriately cover Cook, it will likely lead to at least one big play for Thomas and Kamara, which could be the difference in a game.

Signing Cook also helps the Saints in the draft. They could have drafted a tight end with their second-round pick, but tight ends typically struggle as rookies. With Cook aboard, the Saints won’t need to reach for a position of need, and they could seek a developmental tight end later in the draft and be patient with him.

One NFC pro scout described Cook as a “very good weapon” in the passing game but a poor blocker. Fortunately, the Saints won’t need him to be a good blocker because they already have Josh Hill for that role, and Taysom Hill showed promise as a blocker last season, too. Cook said about five other teams pursued him in free agency, so even if he’s not an all-around player, he’s such a good receiver — and capable of making difficult catches — that he’s a desirable commodity.

However, good tight ends have struggled in their first year with the Saints.

Coby Fleener was slow to pick up the complex offense when he arrived in 2016. Jimmy Graham wasn’t especially productive until his second season. Benjamin Watson didn’t produce much his first two seasons, albeit he played alongside Graham, but he became a true threat in 2015. Even Jeremy Shockey’s production dipped slightly — in terms of yards per catch, big plays and touchdowns — in his first year with the Saints back in 2008.

Having learned from Fleener, though, coaches should be able to simplify things enough for Cook, whose experience in so many NFL offenses should help him adjust quickly in New Orleans.

Another theoretical reason for concern with Cook is that his career-best numbers in 2018 — 68 catches for 896 yards and six touchdowns — might have been the product of being the best weapon in a lousy Raiders offense. That’s easy to dismiss, though, because defenses should have been able to slow him knowing the rest of the receivers posed a minimal threat.

And the Saints don’t need Cook to produce like last season. If he has 50 catches for 600 yards, those numbers would have ranked third on the Saints last year, behind Thomas and Kamara, and they’d be a significant improvement on Watson’s 35 catches for 400 yards.

The threat Cook poses should help everyone. If a safety has to look his way for a split second, it could give Ted Ginn Jr. a one-on-one deep opportunity. Even if he doesn’t block well, having him on the field could keep defenses on their heels just enough to help the run game. The Saints offensive line might suffer without Pro Bowl center Max Unger, but Cook can get open quickly and alleviate that issue.

Most importantly, though, Cook will help Drew Brees. The future Hall of Fame quarterback showed last year he can be great with limited options, but he’s really at his best when he has a reliable tight end. Cook and Brees will have to develop a rapport quickly, but I think the transition should go more smoothly than Fleener’s.

The Saints needed a tight end. Despite having cap issues, they landed the best one. There should always be a little hesitation with signing top players in free agency, but this deal looks like an ideal marriage.