Brandin Cooks back in his New Orleans Saints days.   Photo by Keith Allison

The Archer.

It sounds the latest movie the ever-expanding universe of Super Hero movies.

But to football fans, the archer is someone else; Rams Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks.

Cooks was drafted in the 1^st Round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.  He played in 10 games his rookie season, starting in 7 of them, racking up 550 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.  He’s been a staple in the league ever since, starring for the Saints, the New England Patriots, and now the Los Angeles Rams.

Cooks is a man of faith, known around the league for his character.  He’s never been in the spotlight for any controversial reasons.

That all changed in 2016.

After scoring touchdowns, Cooks has a go-to celebration.  With his left-arm push straight-forward, He pulls his right arm back, as if shooting a bow from an arrow.

During the 2016 season, Redskins Defensive Back Josh Norman celebrated in a similar fashion.  He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and fined $10,000 for performing what the league deemed to be, a symbol of violence.  The NFL then banned players from ‘shooting a bow from an arrow’ in future celebrations.

The ban wouldn’t stop him.

Cooks explained to NOLA.com; “Well, there are different forms of doing it. You just can’t shoot [the arrow].  I’m still going to pull it out. Whatever happens after that happens. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my team, but I’ll figure something out.”

For Cooks, the bow and arrow symbolism are not a symbol of violence.  If not a symbol of violence, then, what it is a symbol of?

One of Brandin Cooks favorite Bible passages is found in Genesis 15-21.  God had promised Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would have a baby boy – even though they were both quite old at this point.  Beginning to doubt God’s promise, Abraham and Sarah agreed that he should have a child by Sarah’s servant, a woman named Hagar.  After agreeing, Hagar soon gave birth to a son, whom they named Ishmael.  In time, God fulfilled His promise, and Sarah gave birth to a son named Isaac.  As you can imagine, there was great tension between Sarah and Hagar – as well as rivalry between Ishmael and Isaac.  After one specific blowup, Sarah asked Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out of their house and out of the community.  Abraham obliged.  When all hope seemed lost for Hagar and her son, God appeared to her, promising that He would protect and provide for them both.  He also promised that, out of Ishmael, a great nation would arise.  Ishmael cared for his mother and became a great archer in the process.

That story stuck with Cooks.  So did another verse; Psalm 144:6; Send forth lightning and scatter your enemy, and shoot your arrows and rout them.

Cooks recalls. “I just remember it sticking with me for such a long time, I remember thinking, maybe I can do something with this.”  The symbolism matters so much to Cooks that he calls himself “The Archer” and had a gold pendant custom-made in the offseason to wear on a gold chain around his neck.  For Cooks, the bow and arrow is equivalent to pointing to the heavens or dropping to a knee after he crosses the goal line.

“It’s one of those things that keeps me honed in and keeps me humble through the success and the gifts that I’ve been given,” Cooks said. “I think it’s a pretty cool way to give God the glory in a different way, and for other people to see it and buy in.”

The next time you see Cooks score a touchdown or make a great play and you see him draw his arm back as if shooting an arrow, remember God’s promises.  He promises to protect us from our enemies, as he said in Psalm 144 and He promises to watch over us, as He did with Ishmael the archer.