Tom Brady is losing one of his top receivers Eddie Yarbrough Jersey , and Jared Goff is getting a speedy new target.

The New England Patriots traded receiver Brandin Cooks to the Rams on Tuesday for Los Angeles’ first-round draft pick, the 23rd overall.

New England also sent a fourth-round choice to the Rams, and the Patriots got a sixth-rounder from Los Angeles.

The 24-year-old Cooks had 65 catches for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns in his only season with the Patriots. His receiving stats were second on the defending AFC champions’ roster only to tight end Rob Gronkowski, who barely topped Cooks in all three categories.

Cooks’ clear chemistry with Brady makes the trade fairly surprising for New England, particularly after the recent departure of another favorite Brady target, Danny Amendola, who signed with the Dolphins.

But the defending NFC West champion Rams made an aggressive offer to secure a potential No. 1 receiver and proven deep threat just three weeks after the departure of Sammy Watkins, who got a three-year, $48 million deal from the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.

After weeks of rumors about the Rams’ interest in acquiring star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants, they managed to find another elite talent at the position. Cooks’ speed and versatility should fit in well in coach Sean McVay’s schemes as he lines up alongside Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp in the NFL’s highest-scoring offense last season.

The trade also appears to be a strategic move on the part of the Patriots: Cooks is entering the fifth year of his rookie contract, and he can become a free agent after the 2018 season.

With three 1,000-yard seasons in a four-year pro career that began with New Orleans, Cooks would likely be a coveted player after another big year Phillip Gaines Jersey , and the Patriots may not have been willing to pay a high price to keep him and may be looking to get maximum value now.

Watkins was in the same contractual situation when the Rams acquired him from Buffalo during training camp last year, and he parlayed a solid season in Los Angeles into an enormous contract elsewhere. Yet the Rams don’t appear to regret the trade, even though Watkins was their fourth-leading receiver with 39 catches, because he excelled in the red zone with eight TD grabs and provided a deep threat that had to be respected by opponents.

Cooks will be asked to do all that and more with the Rams, who haven’t let up on their intense offseason pursuit of a championship roster.

The Rams acquired elite cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib last month, and they signed defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh last week to form a ferocious duo with AP Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Los Angeles has lost leading tackler Alec Ogletree and top cornerback Trumaine Johnson during its machinations, yet kept its entire offensive line intact for Goff and running back Todd Gurley.

With the draft picks acquired in Tuesday’s deal, New England now holds four picks in the first two rounds later this month and four more picks in Rounds 3-7. That gives coach Bill Belichick the ability to go shopping for a young prospect or perhaps to make a deal for a veteran.

Still, there’s also the possibility that the Patriots may do nothing at all at receiver heading into training camp.

Julian Edelman is expected to return after suffering a preseason knee injury, and Malcolm Mitchell is also slated to return after spending time on injured reserve with a knee issue.

Cooks was New Orleans’ first-round selection out of Oregon State in 2014, and he played three solid seasons for the Saints while emerging as a top young receiver.

Yet when the competitive receiver apparently disagreed with the Saints about the height of his abilities and his long-term future, he was traded to New England 13 months ago for a first-rounder and other picks.

Although Cooks is one year away from free agency, the Rams probably feel they’ve got a better chance to do a long-term deal with Cooks. Cooks and Goff are represented by the same agent, and Cooks is a Stockton Duke Johnson Jersey , California, native whose family will be able to see him play regularly.

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

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The first thing Andrew Luck noticed about rookie guard Quenton Nelson was his back.

He calls it the biggest he’s ever seen. And he’s not the only guy doing double-takes of his new, massive personal protector.

Veteran guard Matt Slauson talks about Nelson’s expansive shoulders and enormous chest. Longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo dubbed Nelson an immovable refrigerator on reporting day.

Regardless of the description, they seem apt for the newest addition to another revamped Indianapolis Colts offensive line.

”At guard, you want one of those people that if he’s walking down the street and someone comes and runs at him full speed, that person is going to get knocked out,” Castonzo said. ”He’s got that ability that when people run into him, they move, and he doesn’t.”

The Colts have spent years searching for someone with Nelson’s punch.

Andrew Luck took more than 400 hits from 2012-16, the highest total among quarterbacks in the league, and has been sacked an astounding 156 times in 70 career starts.

All those shots finally caught up with Luck. He missed nine games with assorted injuries in 2015, made 15 starts in 2016 despite playing through shoulder pain and missed all of last season to rehab from surgery for a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

If it wasn’t obvious Indy needed to invest in protecting Luck after he signed a $140 million contract extension in 2016, three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance made the next step clear.

So the Colts went big.

They selected the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Notre Dame linemen No. 6 overall in April’s draft – the first guard selected that high in more than two decades.

He has not disappointed at training camp. Nelson has already shown c he’s capable of stoning more experienced defensive linemen Julius Peppers Jersey , using his flexibility and balance to keep his body in front of pass rushers and flicking away opponents with a quick swipe of his strong hands.

”There’s a reason an offensive guard was picked sixth overall,” said Jack Mewhort, the Colts’ former starter and a second-round pick in 2014. ”Obviously, we haven’t played the game yet, but from everything I’ve seen, he’s lived up to it so far. He’s the man.”

The first real test comes Aug. 9 at Seattle. But Colts fans got a glimpse of what to expect when the Colts put on full pads for the first time last weekend.

In Saturday’s one-on-one drills, Nelson managed to recover from the initial punch of a 305-pound defensive tackle then stood his ground and drove the defender backward.

General manager Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich expected nothing less after watching his college tape and hearing him explain his goal would be breaking the will of an opponent.

”He just brings a lot of power, but then you’ve also got his young, bulldog tenacity that is a lot of fun and fun to watch,” said Slauson, now in his 10th NFL season. ”I don’t have a lot of the athletic tools he has, but I consider myself a big-bodied guy and I like to bring kind of a nastiness myself. What I am going to try and do with him is help him grow in the game as fast as he can.”

Nelson and rookie guard Braden Smith, a second-round pick, could change the whole complexion of the franchise.

With Luck signed through 2021 and center Ryan Kelly Mike Ditka Jersey , a first-round pick in 2016, coming back from an injury-plagued second season, Nelson and Smith could help the Colts plug what has been a leaky interior line.

”Ryan has been a big help for me,” Nelson said. ”He’s the smartest guy in the room. He knows all of the assignments. He’s been a huge help for me on and off the field.”

Instead, Nelson lets his play, intensity and size speak for themselves.

”He did approach me in the hallway (Saturday) and I was a little shocked because it was the first day in pads,” Reich said, laughing through his answer. ”I won’t get into the details of what he was saying exactly, but let’s just say he was excited to be in pads.”

Notes: Tuesday’s practice was moved inside because of rain, but Reich said he thought the Colts reacted with energy and emotion. Longtime center Jeff Saturday attended the workout. … Austin Howard, who should battle for the starting right tackle job, was activated from the nonfootball injury list Tuesday. Reich said Castonzo (hamstring) and starting safety Clayton Geathers (offseason knee surgery) were ”real close” to being activated from the physically unable to perform list ”very soon.” … Linebacker Anthony Walker is expected to miss several weeks after injuring his groin during Sunday night’s practice.

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