Stokley: Broncos must pay attention to Raiders tight end Jared Cook

One of the blemishes on an otherwise strong performance by the Denver Broncos defense on Sunday was how the unit managed to defend Seattle Seahawks tight ends, specifically rookie tight end Will Dissly.

On the day, Dissly was targeted five times and had three receptions for a team-high 105 yards and a touchdown.

Head coach Vance Joseph said on Monday several factors contributed to Dissly’s big day, but that it’s a problem for the team and they have to “fix it.”

“We’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better and that’s the facts,” Joseph said.

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And among the bright spots in the Oakland Raiders loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football was the performance of their tight end Jared Cook.

Cook was targeted 12 times on the night, grabbing nine receptions for 180 yards. He averaged 20.0 yards per catch, caught the ball for seven first downs, and had four plays longer than 20 yards.

So, as the Broncos and Raiders barrel toward the first of their two annual meetings in 2018, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said the Broncos need to account for Cook.

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“Obviously, the Broncos, you still don’t want to forget about Amari Cooper. The guy’s still a really good football player. But you have got to pay attention to Jared Cook and what he brings to the table,” Stokley said.

“Obviously, the Broncos struggles recently of covering tight ends, you’ve got to pay attention to Jared Cook.”

Stokley ranked Cook in his mind not as an elite tight end but a solid one and said the “Broncos have their work cut out for themselves.”

“You’re talking about a tall, lean tight end who can stretch the football field. He can run,” Stokley said. “But he’s not really a powerful guy. That’s not really his M.O.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.