Raise your hand if you had Brandin Cooks occupying the San Francisco 49ers' top spot on the wide receiver depth chart at any point this season.
Seeing no one's hands raised, let's assume none of you could've predicted that.
Yet that's likely the case, particularly with star wide receiver Mike Evans aggravating his Achilles injury during the Niners' Week 6 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. Coupled with the slew of other injury setbacks at the position, Cooks and several other fringe receivers suddenly became that much more essential.
Especially if San Francisco isn't aggressively exploring trades, and signs suggest that'll be the case.
Brandin Cooks is 49ers' lone remaining WR with name recognition
The 33-year-old Cooks is certainly past his prime, turning into a journeyman receiver over the last few years before he signed with the 49ers practice squad in late September.
Yet the Niners will have few choices to get someone into a prominent WR1 role other than Cooks, meaning he likely has to play significant snaps when they travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7, especially if Evans isn't fully recovered and San Francisco's remaining injured wideouts aren't able to return until after the bye the following week.
If anything, Cooks is the only other (healthy) receiver on the 49ers roster who'd command much attention, largely stemming from the fact he's a 2014 first-round draftee with six 1,000-yard seasons under his belt.
Unfortunately, the last one of those was back in 2021 when Cooks was with the Houston Texans.
Brandin Cooks as 49ers' WR1 is far from ideal
The Niners have used Cooks in all three games since acquiring him, primarily just to run routes and to take pressure off their other more prolific pass catchers. He's seen 64 offensive snaps to date, but the fact he has just two receptions on five targets for 20 yards and a touchdown indicates he hasn't exactly been an interim savior for San Francisco's receiving shortages.
Plus, if the second half of Week 6's game post Evans' injury is any indicator, the 49ers will likely struggle if Cooks is asked to be a primary go-to option for quarterback Brock Purdy, especially on a short week.
Hopefully, Evans' absence at least opens up the door for Cooks to get more practice reps between now and the Falcons game, potentially increasing the chemistry between receiver and quarterback.
And, despite his age, Cooks still has above-average speed and route-running capabilities.
Assuming Evans isn't available for Week 7, Purdy and the Niners may need those attributes from Cooks to be in maximum effect if they want to avoid an offensive letdown in Atlanta.
Add us as a preferred source on Google