The New York Jets recently signed former Missouri quarterback Brady Cook as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Cook down in detail.

The 23-year old Cook is listed at 6'2" and 215 pounds. He started 39 games in five seasons with the Tigers. He passed for over 9,000 yards and 49 touchdowns with just 15 interceptions, while also rushing for 20 scores.

Background

Cook was a three-star high school recruit who headed to Missouri and redshirted his first season in 2020, although he did see brief action in three games, completing six of seven passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

His first full season in 2021 saw him make five appearances as a backup before getting his first career start in the Tigers' bowl game. He had 238 passing yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 53 yards and a score in that game. Prior to that game he had 107 passing yards and a touchdown in reserve duties.

Cook won the starting role in 2022 and started every game as he passed for over 2,700 yards with 14 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He also rushed for a career-high 585 yards and six scores.

He returned to the starting role in 2023 and set career marks with over 3,300 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and eight rushing touchdowns. He threw just six interceptions.

In 2024, Cook announced that he was returning and was named as the starter again, although he missed one game through injury. His numbers were down slightly but he still accounted for 16 total touchdowns with just two interceptions.

During his career, he passed for over 400 yards in a game once and over 300 on another four occasions.

Cook wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl, but did play in the Hula Bowl and the Shrine Bowl, and was invited to the NFL scouting combine. He reportedly practiced well at both all-star games but was just 2-for-10 with an interception and a fumble in the Hula Bowl. He fared better at the Shrine Bowl, completing six of nine passes, but was sacked twice and fumbled once.

After Cook went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agency deal with $30K guaranteed.

Let's move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Cook brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

While Cook lacks ideal height, he has a strong frame and can take a hit. He's also an excellent athlete.

He ran sub-4.6 at the scouting combine and his 37-inch vertical was five inches better than any other quarterback this year. His broad jump was even better, just one inch shy of the all-time combine record. His agility numbers were also excellent.

Arm Strength

Early on in his career, Cook's arm strength was something that was heavily criticized. However, it emerged that he had played almost his entire first season as a starter with a shoulder injury that required surgery at the end of the season. His numbers on long throws have been much better over the last two years.

This is one of many areas where he can be inconsistent though. Here's a deep throw that probably should have been a touchdown but he didn't get enough on it.

Arm strength isn't all about deep throws though, you need to put extra zip on the ball to make tight window throws and he shows the ability to do this at times.

Accuracy

Cook's accuracy numbers in college were solid, typically hovering around the mid-sixties in terms of completion percentage. He did post a career-low 63 percent in 2024, though, despite throwing the ball away less and having fewer passes dropped.

He shows an ability to put good touch on the ball on downfield throws and his timing and accuracy are usually good, but he does have lapses at times.

One thing he seems to do well is in red zone situations and on 3rd or 4th down he does a good job of putting the ball in a spot where only the receiver can make a play on it.

Under pressure

Like most quarterbacks, Cook experiences a drop-off when under pressure, but not to an alarming degree and he typically handles blitzes well.

Here's a play where he steps up and moves within the pocket to buy just enough time to get the throw off. However, the throw itself - under heavy pressure - is off-target.

Interestingly, he hasn't had a pass recorded as "hit as thrown" by Pro Football Focus in either of the past two seasons, suggesting he's getting rid of the ball early rather than hanging in there as long as possible to get a throw off. (For comparison, in their last two college seasons, Zach Wilson had three of these, Justin Fields had five and Jordan Travis had seven).

Cook was sacked twice per start on average and had 15 passes batted down at the line in his college career, including six last season.

He only lost five fumbles in his college career, although he did fumble 16 times.

Footwork/Technique

Cook's mechanics are also an area where he shows some inconsistency but perhaps an area where he has some potential for growth that could lead to improvements in his overall game.

He's comfortable on the move, will reset his feet to maintain his balance and can change his arm angle when necessary to get a throw off.

However, his footwork can sometimes be rushed, leading to him being off-balance as he throws and occasionally unable to get a tight spiral on the ball.

Decision Making

If Cook is to have a future as a long-term backup or even a game managing-fringe starter, he'll need to look after the ball and there are some positive signs in this area.

In 2024, he only threw two interceptions - a career-low. Moreover, he only had three total turnover worthy plays all year, according to PFF. Even earlier in his career he displayed good ball security by setting an SEC record for the most consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

Having said all this, he is not immune to making bad mistakes, especially when under pressure.

In terms of his ability to read the field and make good decisions, it's possible he was playing more conservatively in 2024. However, he has a good record in the clutch and one play which demonstrates his instincts well was this clutch 4th-and-17 conversion against Florida.

On the play, the receiver who caught the ball was actually supposed to run a decoy route for the deeper receiver to get open near the marker. However, both the receiver and quarterback were on the same page as they realized there was a soft spot down the seam and they connected there to set up the game-winning field goal.

Mobility

Cook showed the ability to make plays with his legs throughout his college career, as he rushed for 20 touchdowns and twice had 100-yard games on the ground. He showcases good speed, the ability to slip tackles and excellent open field running instincts.

His mobility is also an asset when escaping the pocket and he has shown good abilities in terms of throwing on the move.

He was only 8-for-13 with two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks in his career, but has the strength to get a tough yard when necessary.

Special teams

Cook didn't play special teams during his college career, but he did punt in high school where he led the state with a 48.3 yard average. That could prove useful in an emergency or even in a pooch punt scenario.

Scheme Fit

Cook's athletic ability would seem to make him a similar fit for the system as Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Adrian Martinez, although we are obviously still speculating as to exactly what the Jets' new system will look like.

Generally speaking, though, an ability to limit turnovers and good mobility are useful traits for any backup to have.

For most of his college career, Cook was protected by Armand Membou, who is obviously now also going to be his teammate with the Jets.

Injuries

As noted, Cook had a shoulder injury that limited him in 2022. He actually tore his labrum in the second game of the season and got it surgically repaired at the end of the year.

He had a reputation for being tough and playing through injuries as he also dealt with ankle and knee injuries in 2023. He finally saw his consecutive starts streak snapped last season when he had a wrist injury in addition to an ankle injury he was already playing through. He was then listed as doubtful for the next game too, but did end up starting.

When the ankle injury first happened, Cook was taken to hospital and then famously returned to the stadium and led his team from two scores down to a late comeback win.

Intangibles

Cook is a student of the game, who prepares well and is regarded as an excellent leader, having been a captain for three seasons. He was particularly renowned for his toughness and grit.

He was a two-time SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year winner, a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection, a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a member of the 2020 first-year SEC Academic Honor Roll. In addition, he was a semi-finalist for both the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and William V. Campbell Trophy and was a member of the SEC Community Service Team in 2023.

Conclusions

Cook's combination of smarts, athleticism and arm talent was perhaps expected to make him a better pro prospect, but his modest production and occasional inconsistency has held him back.

The Jets will be asking themselves if he can be coached up to make the most of his talent and put together a better pro career than expected. A few technical tweaks here and there could make a difference, and he has the intangibles to work hard at getting better, but the fact remains he was a player who was frustrating to watch at times in college.

In the short term, Cook will battle Martinez to be the number three quarterback and it's a competition he has the potential to win. The low guarantees in his undrafted free agent deal would indicate that him earning a spot is far from certain, so he will need to perform in camp and preseason.

If the Jets get an injury or two during the season, they'd likely view Cook as a year or two away from being ready to play at the NFL level and would probably go down the veteran route in that situation.