Saints’ tight end Jared Cook regarded as a “matchup nightmare”

A member of the New Orleans Saints’ coaching staff called Jared Cook a “matchup nightmare” for other teams going into the season.

The ten-year vet who spent time with four other teams before landing with the New Orleans Saints has been deemed by his tight end coach to be a “matchup nightmare” for other teams going into this season.

Jared Cooks’ career got off to a rough start in 2009. He didn’t surpass 50 receptions in a season with the Tennessee Titans until 2013 when he nabbed 51 with the then St. Louis Rams. He had two okay seasons with the Rams before a bomb season in 2015.

He played 16 games that year but only caught 36 passes. His time with the Rams was over after that. He then played one mediocre season in Green Bay before finding himself in Oakland with the Raiders. In Oakland, he had the best seasons of his career.

In his first season with the Raiders, he started 16 games, for the first time in his career — and caught 86 passes for 688 yards and six touchdowns. Those were all career highs for Cook that season. He turned around and topped all of those in his second season with the Raiders.

He became a first-time Pro Bowler that year (2018) as well. After his contract expired in 2018, Cook found his way to a contract with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. Due to injury, Cook only started 7 games with the Saints last year.

However, in those games, he did pull in a career-high nine touchdowns and was selected to his second Pro-Bowl. With Cook back to being healthy in 2020, the sky is the limit for the ten-year tight end who is still playing at a high level.

This proves again that the Saints have the best coaching staff in the league. They were able to take a veteran tight end who had only started 16 games in a season once and turn him into what his coach considers a “matchup nightmare.”

Here is what Saints tight end coach Dan Campbell had to say per Tim Daniels/Bleacher Report. “That talent level has been in there. [Raiders head coach Jon] Gruden was able to pull it out of him; he knew exactly what to do with the guy, and we’re trying to do the same thing,” Campbell said.

We just know he is a one-on-one nightmare; he is a matchup nightmare for a defense. I don’t know how to cover the guy. I wouldn’t know what to tell them.”