Brandin Cooks

Brandin Tawan Cooks (born September 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon State, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. After three seasons with New Orleans, Cooks played one season for the New England Patriots and two seasons for the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Texans in 2020. Cooks was born in Stockton, California to Worth Cooks Sr. and Andrea Cooks on September 25, 1993. Worth Sr. died of a heart attack when Brandin was six years old and Cooks and his three brothers, Fred, Worth Jr., and Andre, were thereafter raised by their mother. He attended Lincoln High School in Stockton, where he played high school football for the Trojans. As a sophomore, he recorded 29 receptions for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior, he had 46 receptions for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also collecting three interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. As a senior, he had 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cooks was ranked by the Rivals.com recruiting network as the 26th-best wide receiver and the 240th overall prospect in his class. He originally committed to play college football at the UCLA but changed to Oregon State University. In addition to football, Cooks played basketball and ran track in high school. Cooks played at Oregon State from 2011 to 2013 under head coach Mike Riley.