Saints WR Cooks to get more looks

Brandin Cooks might have been New Orleans’ leading receiver as a rookie last season if not for an injury that sidelined him for the final six games.

Fortunately for Cooks, a broken thumb was never going to affect his exceptional speed or his sudden changes of direction. So as his understanding of the Saints’ offense grows, so does his potential to be a game-breaker.

“He’s smart and he’s a tireless worker. He can run. He can get on top of the defense,” Saints coach Sean Payton said following practice at training camp in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on Thursday. “He has all those other things along with his skill set – all those other things that give you the chance to be a real good player.”

Cooks, who played in 10 games last season before smashing his hand on a helmet during a punt return, finished with 53 catches for 550 yards and three touchdowns, including a 50-yard scoring play. That kind of production as a rookie left him confident he could post formidable numbers if healthy for a full season. But Cooks sounds as if he’s less concerned with how frequently he is targeted than how much he does with the opportunities he gets.

“It’s a new year. We have great players. To be able to do something like (leading the team in receiving) would be special, but is that going to help us win?” Cooks said. “If we spread the ball out, I think that’s when we’re a pretty dangerous team.”

Cooks spent his offseason in San Diego, which also is quarterback Drew Brees’ offseason home. They trained together as Cooks worked on refining his route running while building chemistry with Brees.

“He may give me this look,” Cooks said about Brees. “He won’t do any type of signal, but I see what he’s seeing and we end up being on the same page.”

Cooks said he has also worked on gaining more yards after the catch, which, to him, isn’t so much about toughness or breaking tackles as situational awareness.

“That’s just being savvy, knowing what type of defense they’re in, where you need to hit that hole,” Cooks said.

Vikings coach Zimmer returns

When Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer went to visit his father in a Florida hospital earlier this week, his sister suggested that he start watching some practice video on his iPad, hoping to get a response from their ailing dad, a former football coach.

“Pretty soon, he reached up and started holding the iPad,” Zimmer said. “He must have watched it for five minutes.”

Zimmer returned to training camp Thursday, and he received an ovation from the fans as he walked into the Minnesota State University athletic complex in Mankato for the morning walk-through.

Zimmer said his dad was doing better, and he hoped that a procedure today would improve things further.

Skins’ Jackson sprains shoulder

Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden says wide receiver DeSean Jackson will miss 1-2 weeks after spraining the acromioclavicular joint in his right shoulder.

Gruden says Jackson was hurt Thursday when he landed on the shoulder after catching a pass during a joint workout with the Houston Texans.

The speedy receiver missed time last season with an injury to his left shoulder, but still caught 56 passes for 1,074 yards and six touchdowns.

Jaguars receiver Lee sidelined

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee is unlikely to play in the team’s preseason opener against Pittsburgh next week.

Lee strained his right hamstring in practice Wednesday, and coach Gus Bradley said Thursday the second-year pro will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis. Bradley added that Lee is unlikely to play against the Steelers on Aug. 14.

Lee, a second-round draft pick from USC in 2014, missed all of organized team activities and a three-day minicamp because of a left knee injury.