McClain’s Mailbag

While I was walking through my neighborhood one night this week, a guy walking his dog said hello and before he went on, said, “O’Brien sure makes it interesting.” I don’t think he meant it as a compliment.

No matter what you think about Bill O’Brien — and I know what most of you think — you can’t deny he makes it interesting. Trader Bill’s deal for receiver Brandin Cooks on Thursday is the most recent example. I’ll get into the trade when I answer your questions.

I hope everyone is staying home as much as possible and practicing social distancing, but when you can’t stay at home, I hope you’re now wearing a mask when you’re in public. Carol made me one, and on the rare occasion I go to the drugstore or to get takeout, I feel very strange. I feel like I should be wearing a cowboy hat and saying, “Stick 'em up!”

Let’s all give a collective thank you to everyone who’s working to make our lives as safe as possible in these unprecedented times. THANK YOU!

Now, please check out our draft preview series in the Chronicle and at Texas Sports Nation and the 10th mock draft Aaron Wilson and I compiled this week. We’ll also have our weekly podcasts on the website or your favorite podcast service. We’d appreciate it if you’d give them a listen.

By the way, on Saturday I’m doing Michael Lombardi’s podcast, and we’re going to reminisce about the late, great Joel Buchsbaum, the Pro Football Weekly NFL editor and ultimate draftnik who was a Houston institution on KTRH from the late 1970s until his death in 2002. Lombardi is a longtime NFL GM and personnel director who writes for The Athletic and does his weekly podcast. I can’t wait to tell stories about Buchsbaum, so give it a listen, please. I’ll tweet it when Mike posts it. And check out the story I wrote about Buchsbaum in 1998 when I visited him at his Brooklyn apartment. That’s still one of the most interesting experiences of my 48 years as a sportswriter, the last 45 at the Chronicle.

As you do every week, please send your comments and questions to john.mcclain@chron.com.

Q: You wrote this week “Trader Bill will deal” and you were right. Cooks is no Hopkins. Were you surprised at the trade and what are the pros and cons? — Tony S.

Q: I still think Trader Bill will deal, Tony. He’s got ants in his pants when it comes to making trades. No, Brandin Cooks isn’t DeAndre Hopkins. Nobody is. I was surprised. O’Brien made the trade to give the offense another weapon to go with receivers Will Fuller, Kenny Stills and Randall Cobb. The pros are Cooks is 26, is under contract through 2023 and has great speed (4.3s) to go with Fuller (4.2s) and Stills (4.3s). During a four-year stretch (2015-18), Cooks averaged 77 catches for 1,149 yards (14.9 average) and seven touchdowns. He was drafted in the first round by the Saints in 2014, and after having 78 catches for 1,173 yards and seven touchdowns, he was traded to New England in 2017 for a first-round pick. In his one season with the Patriots, he had 65 receptions for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns. They traded him to the Rams for a first-round pick in 2018. In their Super Bowl season, he had 80 catches for 1,204 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, Cooks missed two games because of a concussion. It was the first time he missed a game since his rookie year. He had a career-low 42 catches for 583 yards and two touchdowns. If they get the Brandin Cooks from 2018, it’ll be a good deal. If they get the Cooks of 2019, it won’t be. Reports out of L.A. say he’s had concussion issues, but he’s missed only two games.

Q: What are we getting with Cooks? Is it speed, route running, great hands? Can he help fill the void? — Keith D.

A: Please check out my previous answer, Keith. Cooks has great speed and was a consistent deep threat from 2015, his second season with the Saints, through 2018, his first season with the Rams. From what I’ve always heard, he’s a hard worker and a good guy. I have no idea why he’s been traded so much. I know the Rams have cap issues and have made cap-related moves. They’re paying Cooks a lot of money not to be there. As with every move, we’ll have to see how it plays out.

Q: Since the Texans traded for Cooks, what position do you think O’Brien will take with his first pick? — Rick T.

A: I’m sure Aaron Wilson and I will have to make changes in our 11th mock draft next week, Rick. I’ll have them taking the highest-rated player at a need position — defensive tackle, cornerback or safety. They really need an inside rusher. I’d love to see them get a defensive tackle like TCU’s Ross Blacklock or Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike with the 40th overall pick. I think both of those guys could already be gone.

Q: I read after the Randall Cobb signing and Cooks trade the Texans are paying more at the receiver position than before Hopkins was traded. It said the Texans are willing to pay receivers, just not Hopkins. Why? Couldn’t they have told him they would extend him next year with two years left on his contract like they did with Andre Johnson and JJ Watt? — Irtaza K.

A: With Cobb and Cooks, they’ll be paying more than it would have taken to make Hopkins happy this year, Irtaza. It wasn’t about the money. Hopkins had three years left on his deal. This regime wasn’t going to redo it with three years left and set another precedent. Hopkins didn’t want to wait. He’s underpaid. He knows it. They knew it. Plus, O’Brien wanted Hopkins gone and Hopkins wanted to be gone. Johnson is the only player to get his deal redone with more than two years left. Watt had two years left. After he got a new deal with two years left, Duane Brown wanted his redone with two years left, but former general manager Rick Smith’s policy was to extend with one year left. Except for Johnson and Watt. That created bad blood with Brown, who held out and forced a trade. Seattle signed him to an extension.

Q: Do you see OB making more trades before or during the draft? — Mike S.

A: I sure do, Mike. I won’t be surprised if he acquires another veteran for a pick but not the 40th overall pick. I also think he’ll sign a couple of more veteran free agents after the trade when they don’t count toward the 2021 compensatory formula.