New England Patriots' Brandin Cooks impressing with work ethic, versatility

June 9 (UPI) -- Wide receiver Brandin Cooks is entering his fourth NFL season and first with the New England Patriots. He has already been impressive this offseason.

Cooks was acquired in March when the New Orleans Saints traded him and a fourth round pick to the Patriots for a first round pick and third rounder in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Last season, he had 1,173 receiving yards and eight scores on 78 receptions. On Wednesday, Cooks caught a short pass and beat the secondary for a 60 yard touchdown, according to the Boston Globe.

The Boston Herald reported that Cooks is lining up "everywhere."

"I just hope I can come and help and do my job to help the team win," Cooks told reporters Tuesday, according to Patriots.com. "That's what I'm hoping I can do - bring some leadership, not that they don't have it already, but to add to that and bring some new energy."

Cooks has had quite the duo of quarterbacks so far in his young career. After spending his first three years in the NFL with Drew Brees, he is building chemistry with another future Hall of Famer in Tom Brady.

"I think that it's been fun building that rapport with all the quarterbacks, getting out here just like I was saying, being live with the defense in front of us, just getting on that same page, knowing what that look is for," Cooks said, according to Patriots.com. "I think that's really important. I think we're doing a great job with that."

Cooks, 23, led all Patriots wide receivers with eight catches in the three practices open to the media.

"Since I've owned the team, the only player that could make an impact like that at wide receiver was Randy Moss," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said of Cooks in March, via ESPN.

Defensive back Devin McCourty was also impressed with his new teammate.

"He's a hard working guy, the same thing like Stephon [Gilmore]," McCourty told Patriots.com. "All those guys have come in and worked hard. Obviously, the one thing that sticks out, he's very fast and another weapon, another guy who I think is coming out here trying to just get everything down. You can tell he's hard on himself and he's trying to be the best out there. I've enjoyed watching him so far. It's always fun trying to shut down those guys."

Cooks also returned punts during the Patriots' second session of mandatory minicamp, according to WEEI. He is expected to start opposite Julian Edelman. With his usage during camp, he could end up being a very important weapon for the Patriots, lining up at different spots through the season.