5 Wide Receivers Who Drastically Outperformed Their Teammates in 2016

Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints

Michael Thomas was a bona fide baller in his rookie season, and we should be jacked about what he could do in the future. But that doesn't mean we should forget Brandin Cooks, who can also do some silly things for the New Orleans Saints.

Of the 60 wide receivers with at least 80 targets this season, only two had higher Target NEP per target marks than Cooks. If we up the threshold to 100 targets, Cooks had the best mark in football, topping Julio Jones and Jordy Nelson, respectively. Not too shabby.

Thomas and Willie Snead both also performed well in this metric, with Thomas finishing 23rd and Snead 12th, but they couldn't quite rival what Cooks did. From an efficiency standpoint, he was pretty clearly the team's top wideout.

The other bonus associated with Cooks is his age. Even though 2017 will be his fourth season in the NFL, he doesn't turn 24 until September. Thomas will be that age in March. Again, this isn't to downplay Thomas' tremendous season, but rather to show Cooks can be worth the headaches.

The main source of frustration with Cooks is the inconsistent targets. He had fewer than seven targets in six games this year, and that's not something we want out of an early-round pick. However, based on what he did last year, Cooks may be worthy of a bump in target market share, and his upside if that were to happen would be other-worldly.