The Dallas Cowboys normally aren't that active during free agency, especially during the first wave of it. However, not only did they trade for cornerback Stephon Gilmore this offseason but they did the same for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. 

It took the equivalent of giving up a Pepsi and a bag of Lay's potato chips to get Cooks (a fifth and sixth-round pick to be exact), and it immediately gave the Cowboys one of the best receiver rooms in the NFL.

Once the transaction went down, Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer got a text from an old friend, future Hall of Famer Drew Brees. Schottenheimer was the quarterbacks' coach for the old San Diego Chargers (2002-2005) while Brees was on the team so there's certainly trust between the two.

Cooks was a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2014 and played with Brees for three seasons. When he contacted Schottenheimer, he signed off on Cooks.

“You are going to love this guy," Brees said.

After a thumb injury prematurely ended his rookie season, Cooks had back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns with the Saints. So, if anyone knows how Cooks can bring firepower to an offense, it's Brees. 

Once Cooks left the Saints, he played for three other teams before coming to Dallas and racked up 1,000 seasons for each. That's actually what doesn't get talked about enough with Cooks is his ability to adapt to any system with different quarterback play and still produce. 

Cooks has been blessed to play with Brees and another future Hall of Famer, Tom Brady. Now, he gets to share the field with Dak Prescott, and Cooks has already left a great impression on him with one of his greatest assets, speed.

“It’s beautiful," Prescott said earlier this week during mandatory minicamp. "Yeah, real speed. …For him to be able to do it every play, every route, the start of every route — the cornerbacks, defense, they don’t know what they’re getting. It all looks the same. I’m thankful he’s here.” 

What will help Cooks tremendously in 2023 will be playing alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Those two will certainly get their fair share of attention which is going to make it difficult to slide coverage to Cooks. So, there's the potential for a plethora of one-on-one opportunities for Cooks, and with his speed and route-running savvy, that's going to be a nightmare for opposing cornerbacks. 

Feature image via Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports