Brandin Cooks ranks in the all-time elite tier for receivers — a career that places Cooks in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Cooks a career score of 74, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

WRBUFACT

Brandin Cooks

Top 5% all-time WRsIron Legend🏆 Clutch · +7% playoffs 🌅 Early Bloomer · 2016Two-Way ProfileTeam Carrier · #85

Height5'10"

Weight190 lb

BornSep 25, 1993

Age32

CollegeOregon State See College Stats

ConferencePacific Twelve

Rookie yr2014

Draft2014 · Rd 1, Pick 20 · NO

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

58thReceptions·734 61stReceiving Yards·9,811 yds 87thReceiving Touchdowns·60

Postseason all-time ranks

71stPlayoff Receiving Yards·572 yds 87thPlayoff Receptions·40

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber wide receiver (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Record Chase →

#58 all-time in Rec (734). 7 behind Andre Rison for #57 — on pace in ~1 season

Career Value · VORP

VORP 226 · #289 · Elite

Worth 226 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver — top 7% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

11 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+20.5

Avg surplus

peak +31

11 seasons × ~20.5 surplus ≈ VORP 226

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

4 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Receiving									Rushing								Defense													Snap Counts
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2014	—	NO	10	—	69	53	550	3	76.8%	10.4	8.0	—	25	7	73	1	10.4	14.3	4	57.1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	533	72.6%	—	0.0%	37	13.4%
2014	—	SF	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	NO	16	—	129	84	1,138	9	65.1%	13.5	8.8	—	45	8	18	0	2.3	0.0	2	25.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	958	83.1%	—	0.0%	4	13.0%
2015	—	NYG	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	NO	15	—	117	78	1,173	8	66.7%	15.0	10.0	—	45	6	30	0	5.0	0.0	1	16.7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	883	76.8%	—	0.0%	4	3.5%
2017	—	NE	16	—	114	65	1,082	7	57.0%	16.6	9.5	—	42	9	40	0	4.4	0.0	2	22.2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1,056	92.9%	—	0.0%	2	3.0%
2017	—	MIA	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	LA	15	—	117	80	1,204	5	68.4%	15.1	10.3	—	56	10	68	1	6.8	10.0	5	50.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	989	89.9%	—	0.0%	3	4.5%
2018	—	DEN	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019	—	LA	14	—	72	42	583	2	58.3%	13.9	8.1	—	32	6	52	0	8.7	0.0	3	50.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	701	71.3%	—	0.0%	1	3.0%
2019	—	CLE	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020	—	HOU	15	—	119	81	1,150	6	68.1%	14.2	9.7	—	51	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	801	87.6%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2020	—	TEN	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	4	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	—	HOU	16	—	134	90	1,037	6	67.2%	11.5	7.7	—	45	2	21	0	10.5	0.0	1	50.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	831	83.3%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2021	—	BUF	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022	—	HOU	13	—	93	57	699	3	61.3%	12.3	7.5	—	29	2	7	0	3.5	0.0	0	0.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	658	81.2%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2023	—	DAL	16	—	81	54	657	8	66.7%	12.2	8.1	—	38	5	35	0	7.0	0.0	1	20.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	809	73.3%	—	0.0%	1	4.0%
2024	—	DAL	10	—	54	26	259	3	48.1%	10.0	4.8	—	19	3	-3	0	-1.0	0.0	0	0.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	471	69.8%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2025	—	BUF	13	—	36	24	279	0	66.7%	11.6	7.8	—	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2025	—	NO	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	537	54.5%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
Career		—	195	—	1,135	734	9,811	60	64.7%	13.4	8.6	—	441	58	341	2	5.9	3.4	19	32.8	0	12	12	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	9,227	78.0%	—	0.0%	52	6.3%

Career EPA324.4·8 rushing · 316 receiving·29.5/season

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	VAL
2014	21	NO	10	7*	7	73	1	10.4	14.3	4	57.1	8.3
2015	22	NO	16	13*	8	18	0	2.3	0.0	2	25.0	18.6
2016	23	NO	15	12*	6	30	0	5.0	0.0	1	16.7	17
2017	24	NE	16	15*	9	40	0	4.4	0.0	2	22.2	15.8
2018	25	LA	15	14*	10	68	1	6.8	10.0	5	50.0	14.4
2019	26	LA	14	10*	6	52	0	8.7	0.0	3	50.0	8.3
2021	28	HOU	16	13*	2	21	0	10.5	0.0	1	50.0	14.5
2022	29	HOU	13	11*	2	7	0	3.5	0.0	0	0.0	9.6
2023	30	DAL	16	12*	5	35	0	7.0	0.0	1	20.0	13.1
2024	31	DAL	10	7*	3	-3	0	-1.0	0.0	0	0.0	5.8
Career			141	114*	58	341	2	5.9	—	19	—	145.1

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
2014	21	NO	10	7*	69	53	550	3	76.8%	10.4	8.0	—	25
2015	22	NO	16	13*	129	84	1,138	9	65.1%	13.5	8.8	—	45
2016	23	NO	15	12*	117	78	1,173	8	66.7%	15.0	10.0	—	45
2017	24	NE	16	15*	114	65	1,082	7	57.0%	16.6	9.5	—	42
2018	25	LA	15	14*	117	80	1,204	5	68.4%	15.1	10.3	—	56
2019	26	LA	14	10*	72	42	583	2	58.3%	13.9	8.1	—	32
2020	27	HOU	15	13*	119	81	1,150	6	68.1%	14.2	9.7	—	51
2021	28	HOU	16	13*	134	90	1,037	6	67.2%	11.5	7.7	—	45
2022	29	HOU	13	11*	93	57	699	3	61.3%	12.3	7.5	—	29
2023	30	DAL	16	12*	81	54	657	8	66.7%	12.2	8.1	—	38
2024	31	DAL	10	7*	54	26	259	3	48.1%	10.0	4.8	—	19
2025	32	BUF	13	8*	36	24	279	0	66.7%	11.6	7.8	—	14
Career			169	135*	1,135	734	9,811	60	64.7%	13.4	8.6	—	441

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Sk	Dis	FR
2014	21	SF	1	1*	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
2015	22	NYG	2	2*	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
2017	24	MIA	1	1*	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2018	25	DEN	1	1*	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2019	26	CLE	1	1*	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2020	27	TEN	4	4*	4	4	0.0	0.0	—
2021	28	BUF	1	1*	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Career			11	11*	12	12	—	—	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2014	21	NO	10	7*	533	72.6%	—	0.0%	37	13.4%
2015	22	NO	16	13*	958	83.1%	—	0.0%	4	13.0%
2016	23	NO	16	12*	883	76.8%	—	0.0%	4	3.5%
2017	24	NE	16	15*	1,056	92.9%	—	0.0%	2	3.0%
2018	25	LA	16	14*	989	89.9%	—	0.0%	3	4.5%
2019	26	LA	14	10*	701	71.3%	—	0.0%	1	3.0%
2020	27	HOU	15	13*	801	87.6%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2021	28	HOU	16	13*	831	83.3%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2022	29	HOU	13	11*	658	81.2%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2023	30	DAL	16	12*	809	73.3%	—	0.0%	1	4.0%
2024	31	DAL	10	7*	471	69.8%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
2025	32	NO	15	8*	537	54.5%	—	0.0%	—	0.0%
Career			173	135*	9,227	—	—	—	52	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Rec AirYd
2014	21	—	—	7*	—	4.1	19.0	566
2015	22	—	—	13*	—	-2.6	25.7	1,597
2016	23	—	—	12*	—	-0.3	55.1	1,522
2017	24	—	—	15*	—	-1.3	39.7	1,759
2018	25	—	—	14*	—	6.8	56.8	1,498
2019	26	—	—	10*	—	2.3	18.6	1,004
2020	27	—	—	13*	—	—	48.3	1,408
2021	28	—	—	13*	—	0.8	24.5	1,423
2022	29	—	—	11*	—	-0.5	5.0	1,013
2023	30	—	—	12*	—	1.7	34.8	1,069
2024	31	—	—	7*	—	-2.8	-11.1	634
Career				127*	—	—	—	13,493

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Rushing (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	YBC	YBC/Att	YAC	YAC/Att	Att/Br	1D
2018	25	LA	16	14*	57	5.7	11	1.1	—	5
2019	26	LA	14	10*	45	7.5	7	1.2	—	3
2021	28	HOU	16	13*	15	7.5	6	3.0	—	1
2022	29	HOU	13	11*	7	3.5	0	0.0	—	0
2023	30	DAL	16	12*	29	5.8	6	1.2	—	1
2024	31	DAL	10	7*	-8	-2.7	5	1.7	—	0
Career			85	67*	145	—	35	—	—	10

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Receiving (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	ADOT	YBC/R	YAC/R	BrkTkl	Drops	Drop%	1D	TgtRate
2018	25	LA	16	14*	12.8	10.7	4.3	4	0	0.0	56	109.1
2019	26	LA	14	10*	13.9	9.9	4.0	0	4	0.1	32	82.1
2020	27	HOU	15	13*	11.8	9.9	4.3	3	2	0.0	51	101.9
2021	28	HOU	16	13*	10.5	7.6	4.0	5	5	0.0	45	95.9
2022	29	HOU	13	11*	10.7	8.7	3.6	1	5	0.1	29	77.3
2023	30	DAL	16	12*	13.2	9.9	2.3	0	3	0.0	38	103.8
2024	31	DAL	10	7*	11.7	7.8	2.1	0	1	0.0	19	65.3
2025	32	2TM	15	8*	14.3	9.8	1.8	0	3	0.1	14	89.9
Career			115	88*	—	—	—	13	23	—	284	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 74 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 74 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 12 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 72.4 × longevity 1 = KV-H 74· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 68

On-field 50.4

Availability 17.6

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)

2014bestavg 67elite 702025

Team Carrier Evidence

Ranked #85 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.

Full board

Total Score

4 qualifying seasons

2020 HOU·4 team wins#12

Receiving Yards · 1,150 · score 42

2021 HOU·4 team wins#16

Receptions · 90 · score 30

2021 HOU·4 team wins#22

Receiving Yards · 1,037 · score 12

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Solid

of 100

Reached 47% of the all-time Receptions leader — a solid all-time profile at the position.

47% of the all-time Receptions leader47

3 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader100

29.49 EPA/season over 11 seasons60

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 92%.

Per-Snap Impact

Wide Receivers · proprietary · 2012+

Above average

SIS

Yards / snap:1.1 ydsSee leaderboard →

Yards/snap1.1Touch rate0.129EPA/snap0.035Snap share78%Off snaps9,227ReliableCV 0.27

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within wide receivers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average wide receivers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2014

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

WR · 2014 class

4.33s

40-Yard

Elite · 95th pct

Pos 95thAll 99thClass Pos 99thClass All 99th

36"

Vertical

Above avg · 51th pct

Pos 51thAll 73thClass Pos 53thClass All 76th

120"

Broad Jump

Below avg · 37th pct

Pos 37thAll 64thClass Pos 42thClass All 69th

16 reps

Bench

Above avg · 63th pct

Pos 63thAll 22thClass Pos 67thClass All 27th

6.76s

3-Cone

Strong · 82th pct

Pos 82thAll 93thClass Pos 78thClass All 92th

3.81s

Shuttle

Elite · 99th pct

Pos 99thAll 99thClass Pos 98thClass All 99th

Playoff vs Regular Season

🏆 Playoff Performer

Yards / Reception: 13.4 regular season → 14.3 playoffs (4 playoff seasons)

+7%

vs reg season

Postseason Career

9 playoff games

Rushing

Att3Yds12Y/A4.01D11D%33.3

Receiving

Tgt65Rec40Yds572Ctch%61.5%Y/R14.3Y/Tgt8.81D31

Defense

Tkl3Solo3

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA-0.5Rec EPA11.5Rec AirYd783

College Stats

Oregon StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Oregon State), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

2014 Draft Class· this player went #20

#11Taylor LewanOT #12Odell Beckham Jr.WR #13Aaron DonaldDL #14Kyle FullerCB #15Ryan ShazierLB #16Zack MartinG #18Calvin PryorDB #19Ja'Wuan JamesOT #21Ha Ha Clinton-DixS #22Johnny ManzielQB #23Dee FordDE #24Darqueze DennardDB #25Jason VerrettDB #27Deone BucannonOLB #28Kelvin BenjaminWR #29Dominique EasleyOLB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Brandin inherited the New Orleans Saints WR room from Kenny Stills (2013–2021), and handed it to Brandon Coleman (2015–2017).

Kenny Duckett 1982–1984Lindsay Scott 1982–1985Eugene Goodlow 1983–1986Eric Martin 1985–1993Lonzell Hill 1987–1990Brett Perriman

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2025team change
Joined BUF (from DAL)
2025final season
Last recorded season with BUF
2023team change
Joined DAL (from HOU)
2020team change
Joined HOU (from LA)
2018team change
Joined LA (from NE)
2017team change
Joined NE (from NO)
2014draft
Drafted by NO — Round 1, Pick 20

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'10" / 190 lb

Frame

189 lb at 4.33s

Size-speed

36" vert / 120" broad

Explosion

16 reps

Bench power

Injury History

6 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2024	DAL	1	W5Out· KneeW12Questionable· Knee
2023	DAL	0	W2Questionable· KneeW15Questionable· Not injury related - resting player / Illness
2022	HOU	3	W8Questionable· WristW9Questionable· Wrist / Not injury related - personal matterW10Questionable· WristW13Out· CalfW14Out· CalfW15Out· CalfW16Questionable· Calf
2021	HOU	0	W13Questionable· IllnessW14Questionable· Back
2020	HOU	0	W1Questionable· QuadricepW2Questionable· QuadricepW14Questionable· Foot / Neck
2019	LA	2	W10Out· ConcussionW11Out· Concussion

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 12-season peers. See all →

peak 79

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B2014

B+2015

B+2016

B+2017

B+2018

C+2019

B+2020

B+2021

B2022

B2023

C2024

C+2025

Availability

Era Translator

Rec Yds translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Rec Yds	Rec Yds/G	→ 2025 Rec Yds	→ 2025 /G
2014	550	55	815+265	47.9
2015	1,138	71.1	1,117-21	65.7
2016	1,173	78.2	1,261+88	74.2
2017	1,082	67.6	1,085+3	63.8
2018	1,204	80.3	1,290+86	75.9
2019	583	41.6	616+33	36.2
2020	1,150	76.7	1,244+94	73.2
2021	1,037	64.8	1,038+1	61
2022	699	53.8	846+147	49.8
2023	657	41.1	649-8	38.2
2024	259	25.9	412+153	24.2
2025	279	21.5	365+86	21.5

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

226 career value over replacement — #289 all-time of 4,642. 18.8/season above a replacement-level WR.

Career Profile

3 top-10 seasonstop-10 marks Compiler36% in top 3 yrs

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #20 (Rd 1) · NO · 2014 · +17.5 vs expected KV-H

74actual

56.5 expected · Δ+17.5

💔+24.8 stolen VORP·1.32 szns lost

Fan Rating

Rate Brandin Cooks — All-Time

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Pete Mandley

92% match

Compare Brandin Cooks vs Player Report data error

Brandin Cooks

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced (EPA)

Advanced Rushing (2018+)

Advanced Receiving (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

Team Carrier Evidence

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2014

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2014 Draft Class· this player went #20

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography