2014 Report Card: Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills

The 2014 season was the first in New Orleans (and the NFL) for Brandin Cooks, and the last for Kenny Stills.  One season cut short by injury, the other shadowed by rumored QB chemistry issues.  In a year full of disappointment, was either of these players able to shine some hope?

Here's how you graded Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills for the 2014 season.

Brandin Cooks

Grade: B

What We Like: He's versatile.  He can catch and he can run.  He's fast and he runs good routes.  He also has the potential to be a very good return man.  But the biggest thing we like, is his potential.  He looked very good in a shortened rookie season, which has hopes high for a breakout 2015.

What We Dislike: His season was cut short due to injury, hopefully that was a one time thing.  Sometimes a little hesitant after catch.

Best Comment(s):

NOLAgniappe: B

Pros:
Guy is a class act. Reliable. Good hands. Versatile weapon. Has the traits of a future leader in the locker room.

Cons:
Seemed to be indecisive about where to go at times after getting the ball in his hands.

Kenny Stills:

Grade: C

What We Like: He has good speed and pretty solid route running skills.  Made a few big plays and had a couple of big games.  Was asked to take on a bigger role this season.

What We Dislike: Something was up behind the scenes, with reports of Drew Brees not being happy with him.  While he did have big games and plays, he also had very lackluster games (6 games under 40 yards receiving).

Best Comment(s):

xen-cuts with the bad.

xen-cuts:

Stills didn’t do anything last season and looked lost without Lance Moore around to help him. He just lacks maturity, not sure if he was going to be a solid contributor in the future. I like that we made the decision to cut bait, we have tried to be patient too many times.

...and Tee Word with the good.

Tee Word:

Stills had a good year, hence the value received in the trade.

Stills took on a bigger role by nearly doubling his reception total (32-63). The only reason to get rid of him is either bad attitude or undisclosed injury. If not for missing the ATL opener, he probaby tops 1k receiving.

Looks like Brandin Cooks takes this one.  Both of these young players seemingly have good NFL careers ahead of them, only time will tell who will ultimately come out on top.

Previous Report Cards:

Kenny Vaccaro
Pierre Thomas
Junior Galette
Jimmy Graham
Keenan Lewis
Mark Ingram
Curtis Lofton