Pats get WR Cooks; Saints an extra #1 in big deal … New England continued o wheel and deal this off-season by acquiring rising WR Brandin Cooks from New Orleans in exchange for the final pick of this year’s opening round (#32) as well as the Patriots’ 3rd round pick (#103). For the record, the latter pick is the 3rd round compensatory selection the Patriots received from Cleveland to complete the Jamie Collins transaction. To complete the Cooks’ deal, the Patriots will get a 4th round pick (#118) from the Saints. Given that the Saint in effect only move up 15 spots in the 3-4 arrangement, essentially they get the Pats’ #1 pick for Cooks. Cooks is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2017 season. The Patriots currently don’t have a pick until the 3rd round of this year’s draft, but do have a couple of pieces in QB Jimmy Garopplolo and CB Malcolm Butler they could move to recoup some of those lost picks.
