Fantasy Football: 4 Takeaways From Julian Edelman's Season-Ending Injury

2. Brandin Cooks Should Be Less Volatile

When Cooks joined the Patriots, you knew he'd be able to maintain the absurd efficiency he had with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The question was whether he'd get enough targets to justify a high-end pick. That seems to be less of an issue now.

Cooks frustrated owners at times in 2016, finishing six games with fewer than 50 receiving yards, including a big ol' goose egg in Week 12. Yet he still managed to finish as the 10th-ranked wide receiver in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues, according to FantasyData.com. This should show you how much he did in those other games.

Cooks' 10th-place finish also came despite just a 17.67% target market share in the Saints' offense. With Edelman (who controlled 29.52% of the Patriots' targets last year) out of the picture, Cooks would figure to get a boost there. There will still be volatility, but things should at least be a bit smoother.

This isn't to say that Cooks is suddenly a bargain. It's hard to qualify as such when you're the 10th receiver off the board in 12-team, PPR leagues, according to Fantasy Football Calculator. It just means he's more worthy of that cost than he may have been previously.

After accounting for Edelman's injury, Cooks is now the ninth-ranked wide receiver in numberFire's season-long projections, sitting right between Dez Bryant and Doug Baldwin. He's also ahead of former teammate Michael Thomas despite carrying a lower draft cost. So once the page turns to the second round, if you have the itch to get exposure to this offense, Cooks isn't a bad way to dive in.