3 things the Cowboys must improve on offense after the Week 7 bye
![Oct 16, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks (3) catches a Oct 16, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks (3) catches a](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_8640,h_4860,x_0,y_3/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/129/01hdpp2sgxmrakqcdfyy.jpg)
2. Get Brandin Cooks more involved
When the Cowboys traded for Brandin Cooks, it was going to be electric watching him in Dallas’ offense. Trading only a fifth and a sixth-round pick seemed like a steal for a wideout who has six 1,000-yard seasons in his career.
Six games into the season, and it’s safe to say the trade hasn’t panned out so far. Cooks have just 13 catches for 109 yards and one touchdown through five games. His 23 target also ranks fifth on the team.
Cooks is off to the worst start of his career. Even when he totaled a career-low 42 catches for 583 yards and two touchdowns with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, the wideout still totaled over 320 receiving yards through his first five games.
Dallas just isn’t using him on offense, and it’s not great to see. Cooks brings the Cowboys another big-time weapon in the passing game, someone whose speed can be a difference-maker. But he just isn't getting the targets.
It was a great sign to see Cooks put together his best game of the season in Week 6. He racked up a season-high 36 yards on four catches and secured his first touchdown pass of the year. Still, he only saw four targets for the fourth time this season.
PRESCOTT TO COOKS. @DallasCowboys take the lead
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2023
📺: #DALvsLAC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/cKH8Z3jhNB pic.twitter.com/VdX89XRFkG
Hopefully, the Cowboys will have more plays designed for Cooks after their Week 7 bye. The wideout has been running way too many 2-5 yard routes. That’s not his game, and the time off should help the team see that.