The Dallas Cowboys needed more weapons for quarterback Dak Prescott, and they got an excellent one when they traded for Brandin Cooks last month.

Cooks recently made an appearance on The Adam Schefter Podcast this week and mentioned what it's like to be in Dallas. 

"It's a special feeling," said Cooks. "Obviously, you think of all the history in Dallas. You think of all the great players that came through there. You think of the Jones family. I'm extremely excited, extremely excited."

The Cowboys weren't strangers to Cooks before he came on board. They tried to get him on the roster in 2022 as well before the trade deadline. This time around, Dallas sealed the deal, and only coughed up a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth-rounder in 2024 to do so. 

Cooks spoke on his reaction once he knew the Cowboys were going to be his new team.

"I mean, I was like, it's one of those things better late than never, right? Obviously, we all know it was a potential before last year's trade deadline during the season. But when I heard it was going to be Dallas and they were back in it I like was like I guess it's meant to be for sure," Cooks said.

Cooks also talked about how he was close to coming to Dallas last season. 

"From just everything I know it was really close," Cooks said. "Obviously, it came to a point of it didn't get done. But, you know, it is what it is at that point you have to keep on pushing, but here we are now. I'm just thankful to be, like I said, a Dallas Cowboy. I can't wait to get suited up."

During his three seasons with the Houston Texans, Cooks was productive with nearly 3,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. However, the team wasn't as fortunate with only 11 total wins over that span.

Life has certainly taken a turn for the better in terms of winning for Cooks. The Cowboys have won 12 games in consecutive seasons and have the seventh-best odds to make the playoffs in 2023.

Schefter asked Cooks what it was like to be back on a winner again.

"It motivates you," Cooks said. "It makes you hungry. For me, I think of those past three years of not winning, and before that, I'm used to winning. So, it brings that perspective back to say that I'm going to show up and be the best teammate I can be and to hopefully help Dallas overcome that hump. That’s what it's all about, that's my mindset. I just want to win, period."

Cooks is coming to Dallas to play with someone he's very familiar with, cornerback Stephon Gilmore. The two were teammates with the New England Patriots in 2017, and Cooks told Schefter that they've "been close" everywhere they've gone.

The former first-round pick spoke on his communication with Gilmore. 

"No exaggeration, we probably talk every single day for the past three or four years, every week at least for sure," said Cooks. "Somebody I got a lot of respect for, that I run things by. But, he got traded first, and then I'm like man how do we make this happen? And the next thing you know we're back on the same team together. So, I'm excited."

Gilmore was traded to the Cowboys just five days before Cooks. Schefter asked Cooks what the conversations between him and Gilmore have been like since both trades went down.

"It was just one of the things that's so surreal," said Cooks. "Like, we knew it was a possibility, but then the next thing you know we both get traded. He visits Dallas a week before me and then meets me out there again to look at neighborhoods. We were just looking at each other like man this is really real.

"We both was in a situation that we obviously would've hoped to be different. But, now we're back to an incredible franchise." 

Gilmore is a top-flight cornerback, and so is Trevon Diggs who has been named to multiple Pro Bowls and received All-Pro honors during his first three seasons. Cooks went on to talk about the skill level that still exists with Gilmore and how he and Diggs will be as a duo.

“We like to about it, just press play," Cooks said. "He is still playing at the highest level. The guy is patient and he's extremely smart. His film study. It's one of those things that he just has everything you would want from a corner. 

"I think it’s gonna be huge for him and Diggs to pair up together and for him to drop that knowledge on Diggs because Diggs is already special. But the knowledge that Steph has is really second to none that's in the game right now, obviously."

The Cowboys got next to nothing at the receiver spot outside of CeeDee Lamb who put up 107 receptions for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns last season. That outdid every other receiver on the Cowboys combined, making the need for another weapon immense.

With Cooks on the roster, and a healthy Michael Gallup, the Cowboys have a formidable three-headed attack in the passing game. Cooks talked about his admiration for Lamb's talent and what he wants to do for him and Michael Gallup. 

"CeeDee, you talk about a guy whose been electric since the moment that he's stepped into this league," Cooks said. "But you look last year what he did to really just go into that mode of a true No.1 receiver. I got a lot of respect for his game from afar. I hit him up like I'm coming to just help, there's no ego, and the same thing with Gallup."

The biggest beneficiary of Cooks coming to Dallas is quarterback Dak Prescott who led the league in interceptions last season with 15. So, the hope for the Cowboys is that Prescott and Cooks can build enough chemistry to help bring his interception total down.

Prescott is without question an upgrade from what Cooks had in Houston, and he was complimentary of his new quarterback when asked about him.

"He's competitive nature. The way that he goes about his work," said Cooks. "You hear about it from teammates or ex-teammates, the way that he carries himself. I'm truly excited to be able to play with a guy like that who's hungry to get better." 

Cooks certainly makes the Cowboys a better offense. Now, what remains to be seen is if that helps the team make a deep playoff run.