Former South Carolina football star Jared Cook is one of the most undervalued free agents in the entire NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Cook, a 12-year-old NFL veteran, is on the market after spending the previous two seasons in New Orleans.
Cook has had a long career in the NFL playing at least 10 games in all seasons, so he has not only been on the squad, he has been durable. According to statistics on his Wikipedia page, Cook has 505 receptions for 6,673 yards with 41 touchdowns in his career.
The two highest touchdown totals Cook posted – nine in 2019 and seven in 2020 – occurred in the past two seasons. In fact, his third highest total of six came in 2018 with the Oakland Raiders.
Now Cook could find a new home. Here’s why PFF called Cook “the most underrated free agent” in the tight end position:
Projected contract: One year, $ 5 million (fully guaranteed)
Cook will be 34 soon after the start of the new league year, but the veteran still has plenty of gas in his tank and should be on the radar for 2021 Super Bowl contenders.
Cook recorded the fifth best grade received in the job in the past three years. He also turned 26.4% of his goals into a gain of more than 15 yards in that period, losing only Travis Kelce by six tenths of a percentage point to the highest rate on a tight end.
Throughout his career in the NFL, Cook played on five different teams. Including the Raiders and Saints mentioned earlier, Cook began his career with the Tennessee Titans, the team that selected him in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played four seasons there before spending the next three with the St. Louis Rams. Cook then spent a year with the Green Bay Packers.
A double selection in the NFL Pro Bowl, Cook also holds the Raiders franchise record for the most yards received in a game (180).
A three-year-old Gamecocks player before going to the NFL, Cook is the second tight end leader in school history in yards receiving 1,107 yards. He had 73 receptions with seven of them going for touchdowns.