Brandin Cooks

It was good to see Cooks on the field in a full-time role, as his connection grew stronger with Deshaun Watson. He caught 5-of-8 targets for 95 yards, leading the team in a brutal matchup against the Ravens secondary. The Steelers aren't slouches either, as they've allowed just 16 receivers to score more than 11.2 PPR points against them since the start of last year. Why is that number significant? It's the average number of points it took to finish as a top-36 receiver in 2019. That's what you're looking for when starting any wide receiver, a top-36 performance. Cooks tends to do well against slower cornerbacks, and the Steelers duo of Joe Haden and Steven Nelson kind of fit in that group. Nelson ran a 4.49 when coming into the NFL while Haden ran a 4.52, though both are slower than they were when they came into the league. It's not a great matchup, but we'd give Cooks a solid bump if Fuller can't go or is limited throughout the week. For now, we'll assume Fuller plays after being limited in practice. Cooks should be in the high-end WR4 conversation whose arrow is trending up.

Brandin Cooks see five targets in Week 3 loss

Brandin Cooks caught three passes on five targets for 23 yards on Sunday as the Texans lost to the Steelers by a 28-21 score in Week 3 action.

Fantasy Impact

Cooks was limited in practice leading into Sunday with a quadriceps injury and it could have affected him as he did not have much an impact on the game. The veteran receiver is batting Will Fuller and Randall Cobb for passes and should only be started in deeper fantasy leagues.