Eagles Really Wanted Brandin Cooks

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The Eagles have had serious interest in Brandin Cooks for a significant time and it reached a fevered pitch before the 23-year-old wideout was shipped to New England.

Philadelphia was wrangling with Tennessee and the Patriots for the explosive young receiver, who has already amassed two 1,100-yard NFL seasons yet is younger than Carson Wentz.

The Eagles reportedly offered Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins back to New Orleans, along with two picks in the upcoming draft, a third-rounder and a fourth-round selection, according to ProFootballTalk.com.

The Saints were willing to play ball but wanted Jenkins and a second-round pick instead. Ultimately, the Pats landed Cooks and a fourth-round pick by sending the 32nd overall pick and a third-rounder to NOLA.

From the beginning of free agency, an NFL source informed 973espn.com that the Eagles wanted to add two receivers in the process, a deep threat and an option with size on the opposite side to complement that pop-the-top guy.

That came to fruition when Philadelphia signed both Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery but that wasn’t Plan A. The top target for the speed part of the equation was Cooks and the size aspect was supposed to be filled by Kenny Britt before his price got too high thanks to the Cleveland Browns.

In the end, Smith is a much lesser get than Cooks would have been but Jeffery is a significant step up from Britt.

Jenkins, meanwhile, remains unfazed by the report.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen