Deandre Hopkins Visiting Patriots Next Week

[Ras-IR Dowling]

To me, only way bringing in Dalvin Cook would make sense is if Rhamondre Stevenson was lost for the season. Replace a workhorse back with receiving chops with another. Otherwise it’s a waste of resources. If Cook was at a stage in his career where he’d accept a backup role at a team friendly price that’s one thing. But this is a guy who will be 28 at the start of the season, coming off his 4th straight Pro Bowl season, who still believes he’s a lead back in this league and will be looking to be paid as such. They already have Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris as in-house candidates to handle the load in the absence of Stevenson. Cook is not a fit for what the Patriots need most right now, and he’s most likely waiting for a starter to go down in preseason before signing anywhere. Hopkins fills a glaring need (a true alpha WR option) and I’d rather see the money go to improving the tackle situation if possible. Is Cook an upgrade over the other backup options? Absolutely. But it’s the cost that would be the most concerning.

You’re right the cost is the biggest issue. If the cost is reasonable and the interest is there from cook we should absolutely explore the possibility. We already released Robinson. Cook could fill the void left by Harris. We would have an improved 1-2 punch than we’ve had the last few seasons.

 

[TheBeers]

I am perfectly fine with the RB depth chart as it stands. If we suffer injuries I would be fine with one of the vets still out there. Plus I assume we'll pick someone up at cutdowns for the PS or depth if someone ends up on IR.

 

[RIpats88]

Not sure what this update even means. Although maybe Hopkins is realizing this is the best he's going to get

 

[TheRainMaker]

Miami should be the team that signs Dalvin Cook. When Shanahan finally realized scheme only goes so far and you need a real talent at RB, McDaniel should do the same. Miami has JAG’s at RB.

But don’t sleep on him joining his brother in Buffalo.

 

[Zuma]

Not sure what this update even means. Although maybe Hopkins is realizing this is the best he's going to get

Did he miss the fact that Hopkins was in Foxboro last week?

 

[Lansdowne]

Not sure what this update even means. Although maybe Hopkins is realizing this is the best he's going to get

Nothing of substance. Could swap out Patriots for Titans and it’d mean the exact same thing.

 

[rochrist]

At the money he’s currently stated to be asking for, absolutely no chance. But I think we all know no team is going to give that. Few teams even have the money to do it right now in the first place, and if they did, they’re not likely going to blow their precious remaining space on a running back. Once his price comes down I can see it.

He's also not going to accept being a backup.

 

[Joey007]

Dalvin Cook would make us better. For that, I would not be opposed to the signing.

 

[slash83]

Dalvin Cook would make us better. For that, I would not be opposed to the signing.

No way not buying that.

 

[patfanken]

He's also not going to accept being a backup.

He's NOT going to be a back up. Who starts on the first play becomes more and more meaningless every year. How you judge a player's importance these days is how many snaps is he out there. And on offense it's how many touches and targets does he get. A WR who gets 10+ targets in a game is going to be happy regardless if he's out there on the first play of the first quarter. Same goes for RB.

What will attract a guy like Cook who was the bell cow for a while now in Minnesota is how he will fit in the offense and how many touches and targets he will get. He ALSO knows that a RB's life is a short one and if he want to extend his career as long as possible it would be to his advantage to be in a situation where he SHARES the load, which will also extend Rham's effectiveness.

So in an average game the offense will run around 60 - 65 plays give or take. I would expect the Pats will WANT to make 25-30 of those plays runs (and more if possible) A big part of the Pats defensive strategy this year will be keeping the other team's offense OFF the field with long time consuming drives.

So a Stevenson, Cooks 3 down tandem would be very exciting. On run downs,, Rham is a great PAP option, and on Passing downs Cooks would be a viable threat to make a big play running against a spread out defense. There would no longer be "james white is on the field so its a pass tell"/ Rham would get the majority of the running plays, and Cooks would get most of the 3rd down action. Cooks would run the ball around 7-10 times a game and be targeted on 5 or 6 times. He'd likely get more touches per game than Hopkins would and is equally explosive.

Good for Cooks, good for the Pats. If he goes to a team where he is going to be the "bellcow" then in 2 years he will likely be just another RB looking for a job in June. If he comes here and assumes the "alvin Kamara" role he will last another 5 years.

Just a thought on why he'd come here

 

[TheRainMaker]

Dalvin Cook would make us better. For that, I would not be opposed to the signing.

He's a 4 time Pro Bowl RB clearly still capable of being a starter. He's not going to NE. There are plenty of teams that could use him and it's bizarre they are sleeping on him.

All of Bill's focus is on D-Hop. Cook isn't even on the radar. Pats already have a 1,500+ yard from scrimmage RB. Signing him over D-Hop would be a horrible use of resources.

 

[DaBruinz]

He's also not going to accept being a backup.

Cook would accept being 1B to Stevenson's 1A.

2022 was the first time that Cook played a Full season in his career.

As mentioned, Who "starts" really doesn't matter when you're an RBBC offense and there are more than 1000 offensive plays and over 550 rushing plays to be had.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Dalvin Cook is a 28 year old RB with experience mostly in a zone blocking scheme who was one of the least efficient RBs in the NFL last year. He’s a name at this point.

 

[Sicilian]

Dalvin Cook is a 28 year old RB with experience mostly in a zone blocking scheme who was one of the least efficient RBs in the NFL last year. He’s a name at this point.

He'd also be a bit of diminishing returns for the price he'll probably command. They need someone to spell Stevenson so he doesn't get gassed, but you don't want to relegate Stevenson to actual part time duty (he's still one your best offensive players). So you're paying for the Cook name, but for a role that is going to get about 10 touches a game, because they're not the kind of RB duo that you can play on the field at the same time.

 

[PatsFan2]

I think we have some good young RB's on our Roster who will compliment Rham. Harris could be workhorse and Strong is an all purpose type potentially. That said I wish D-Hop would just hurry up and sign.

 

[PatsFan2]

IF D-Hop doesn’t make a decision this week I think he has other plans and is hoping for better Teams.

 

[XLIX]

Dalvin Cook would make us better. For that, I would not be opposed to the signing.

well.... Cook makes the Patriots better in the sense that he would immediately represent an upgrade in the #2 RB position..... but I don't see him accepting the role - or the financial downgrade that would come with it.....

 

[TheRainMaker]

Dalvin Cook is a 28 year old RB with experience mostly in a zone blocking scheme who was one of the least efficient RBs in the NFL last year. He’s a name at this point.

These made up stats are getting of hand.

 

[Love The Drake]

IF D-Hop doesn’t make a decision this week I think he has other plans and is hoping for better Teams.

I agree I don’t want to hang a we almost signed Hopkins banner but this is where the current Mac lead Patriots are.

A Hopkins signing could really assist with this.

 

[TheRainMaker]

So apparently Stephon Diggs is pissed off that the Bills are not being aggressive in pursuing DeAndre Hopkins. Assuming Hopkins has gas in the tank, Diggs has the right attitude in wanting Hopkins as that will make Diggs even more difficult to defend.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bills/news/buffalo-bills-sign-free-agent-signing-deandre-hopkins-new-england-patriots-stefon-diggs?src=rss