Brandin Cooks turned heads at the NFL Scouting Combine with his 40-yard dash time, but he's been on the radar of NFL teams for months after turning in a monster year at Oregon State.
Considered one of the best in the draft at his position and a dangerous return man, most mock drafts have Cooks finding a home somewhere in the first round. We caught up with him on Friday during his visit to NFL Network and put him on the clock to discuss everything from which clubs he's visited to what he'll do with that first contract.
Question: You've met with several teams the past few weeks. Who have you had private workouts with recently?
Brandin Cooks: So far I've been to New England, I have Carolina coming up and then I'll fly out to New York. I'll have to check my schedule because I have a couple of others. It's one of those things where you always have to be ready because you never know who's going to pop on the phone.
Q: Who's shown the most interest during the pre-draft process?
BC: To be honest, a lot of teams are showing a lot of interest. I'm just going with the flow and taking advantage of all this to show who I am.
Q: What do you tell teams that makes you a first-round draft pick?
BC: It's so much. I'm versatile, I can catch, I can run routes, I can return kicks, I can run those fly sweeps. As we saw in the Super Bowl, Percy Harvin had a couple fly sweeps with big gains and I feel like I can do that and do that at a high level. I tell those teams I'm very versatile.
Q: Anybody you pattern your game after in the NFL?
BC:(The Ravens') Steve Smith, he's a great receiver and one of the best out there. Being under six-foot, he's not one of the biggest receivers, but at the same time, he brings everything to the table that any other guy can. I definitely try to mold my game after a guy like that.
Q: What do you do better than guys like Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans?
BC: I bring everything to the table. Being able to run routes and be a smart player. I come from a pro style system so the (NFL) terminology wouldn't be that foreign to me. You have to be able to come in and understand that, you have to be able to learn offenses and coverages. At the same time, I can return the ball and do some damage there.
Q: What advice have you gotten from former teammate/current Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton about the process?
BC: I've been talking to him throughout the process just due to the fact that he's been there. He's been helping me more from a standpoint of getting ready and telling me to take advantage of every opportunity. He went through a lot of the private workouts, team visits and everything, so he tells me to soak it all in and enjoy it because it's a dream come true.
Q: Do you have any draft-day plans?
BC: I have that invite to New York and that's one of those things I'm going to sit down with my family to discuss. That will probably be one of those things that I want to do. You've been watching that since you were growing up as a kid, so to be able to have that opportunity, it's obviously something I'm going to talk to my family about to take advantage of. It could be a special moment for us.
Q: Any plans to buy something big after you sign that contract with a team?
BC: I'm a low-key type of guy. I'm going to let my money sit there and make money on its own from interest. Not coming from it, I definitely want long-term growth and not short-term greed. I want to set my family up for generations. I'll obviously treat myself to something, but it won't be anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I'll take a trip with my mom or something. Other than that, the money is getting put up in a bank.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
