Brandin Cooks has scored six times this season, matching his most since 2017 and giving fantasy football managers production well above what they expected when drafting the veteran WR this summer.
That said, with just six catches in total over his past three games, the floor from a fantasy standpoint is a low one. Can you trust the Dallas Cowboys’ WR2 in a showdown with the Detroit Lions this week?
Should You Start Brandin Cooks in Week 17?
He bailed you out by scoring on one of his two targets last week, but you’re walking a very thin line by starting Cooks these days.
The veteran receiver falls just outside of my top 30 this week, despite an exploitable matchup, due to his lack of target volume. Since earning 10 targets against the New York Giants in Week 10, Cooks is averaging just 4.3 targets per game, making him a player that needs to score to make him worth your while.
He’s been able to fulfill that promise plenty over the past 2.5 months, but understand that you’re betting against career trends if you’re betting on his scoring equity to sustain.
- 2023: TD on 9.2% of targets
- 2022: TD on 3.2% of targets
- 2021: TD on 4.5% of targets
- 2020: TD on 5.0% of targets
- 2019: TD on 2.8% of targets
The regression monster figures to take a pound of flesh at some point from Cooks’ managers, and while this matchup doesn’t profile as the most difficult, the fact of the matter is that the Cowboys don’t need Cooks to produce for them to have success.
The veteran receiver makes for a reasonable Flex play, but not one that you’re blindly starting.
Trending Start/Sit Searches For Cooks
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use and it allows you to enter in up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity!
Should You Start Cooks or Drake London?
The target volatility of Cooks can be scary to pencil into your lineup, but at least we know that his targets carry some value due to the efficiency of this offense as a whole.
We can’t say as much about Drake London, a player who has finished three of the past four weeks outside of the top 60 producers at the position. The future is bright for London given his youth and raw talent, but the future isn’t now in this limited Atlanta Falcons’ passing attack.
Should You Start Cooks or Rashid Shaheed?
For me, this decision comes down to the nature of your matchup. I trust Dallas’ offense more, so if I’m in a coin-flip matchup, I want to attach myself to the team that projects more scoring opportunities.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
That said, Rashid Shaheed’s season-high nine targets last week is a step in the right direction and he gets a vulnerable Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary in Week 17. I’m not afraid of starting Shaheed this week, but his skill set comes with the risk that I’m only taking on if I believe I am an underdog this week.
Kyle Soppe’s Week 17 WR Rankings
1) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (vs. DET)
2) Justin Jefferson | MIN (vs. GB)
3) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. ARI)
4) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (at DAL)
5) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at BAL)
6) Brandon Aiyuk | SF (at WAS)
7) Chris Olave | NO (at TB)
8) Puka Nacua | LAR (at NYG)
9) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. LV)
10) Deebo Samuel | SF (at WAS)
11) DK Metcalf | SEA (vs. PIT)
12) Cooper Kupp | LAR (at NYG)
13) Rashee Rice | KC (vs. CIN)
14) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
15) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. ARI)
16) Nico Collins | HOU (vs. TEN)
17) Amari Cooper | CLE (vs. NYJ)
18) Davante Adams | LV (at IND)
19) Calvin Ridley | JAX (vs. CAR)
20) DJ Moore | CHI (vs. ATL)
21) Stefon Diggs | BUF (vs. NE)
22) Chris Godwin | TB (vs. NO)
23) Tee Higgins | CIN (at KC)
24) Jayden Reed | GB (at MIN)
25) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. LAC)
26) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. MIA)
27) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (at CLE)
28) Tyler Lockett | SEA (vs. PIT)
29) DeAndre Hopkins | TEN (at HOU)
30) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. SF)
31) George Pickens | PIT (at SEA)
32) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. DET)
33) Diontae Johnson | PIT (at SEA)
34) Noah Brown | HOU (vs. TEN)
35) Drake London | ATL (at CHI)
36) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at IND)
37) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (at NYG)
38) Gabe Davis | BUF (vs. NE)
39) Rashid Shaheed | NO (at TB)
40) Josh Downs | IND (vs. LV)
41) Odell Beckham Jr. | BAL (vs. MIA)
42) Jameson Williams | DET (at DAL)
43) Zay Jones | JAX (vs. CAR)
44) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (vs. PIT)
45) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at DEN)
46) K.J. Osborn | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Adam Thielen | CAR (at JAX)
48) Michael Wilson | ARI (at PHI)
49) Darius Slayton | NYG (vs. LAR)
50) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (at MIN)
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