It’s almost unnecessary to explain why the New England Patriots traded for Brandin Cooks. He’s not only one of the most promising receivers in the NFL, but he’s already one of the best.

But it’s fun to explain why. So humor me. Read on.

The Patriots never need to run the football again. They now have Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, James White, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Dion Lewis, Dwayne Allen and last but not least Cooks, who has over 1,000 yards in the last two seasons.

Mark my words: the Patriots haven’t added a high-impact pass-catcher like Cooks since Randy Moss. He’s going to make a huge impact in New England.

The haul the Patriots sent to New Orleans was clearly enough to deter other teams. New England sent their first rounder (No. 32) and third-rounder (No. 103) for Cooks and a fourth-rounder (No. 118). Because the Patriots pick last (because, you may have heard, they won the Super Bowl), their third rounder is just 15 picks away from the Saints’ fourth rounder.

Well worth it.

He’s faster and perhaps more agile than any pass-catcher on the team, and that’s saying something. Edelman beat Cooks in the 3-cone drill when each of them partook in pre-draft evaluations. But if I had to put my money on one of them tomorrow, I’d put it on 23-year-old Cooks over 30-year-old Edelman. Sorry, I’m a realist.

Above all, Cooks brings a skill set the Patriots offense didn’t have. He’s unlike Julian Edelman in that Cooks is more comfortable stretching the top of the defense with his 4.33 40-yard dash spend. And he’s unlike Chris Hogan in that Cooks can thrive in places other than the perimeter. He’s excellent after the catch, whether he’s catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage or 50 yards beyond it.

Cooks can bring his athleticism to the field on Sundays unlike so many receivers the Raiders drafted under Al Davis. The Saints did Cooks an injustice by pegging him as solely a deep threat. And that’s where the Patriots could get more out of Cooks than the Saints did. New Orleans liked using Cooks as their sole deep threat — and sometimes as a decoy — while Michael Thomas and Willie Snead worked underneath and intermediate routes. Cooks will do it all for New England. They will use him as a burner on go-routes, but he’ll also dominate the middle of the field. Heck, he might line up in the backfield and catch balls in the flat on screen plays — he’s the same size and height as pass-catching running back White. There’s no telling what Josh McDaniels will think up for a weapon as multi-faceted and intimidating as Cooks.

The 5-foot-10, 190 pound receiver is practically a thank you note from Bill Belichick to McDaniels for sticking around another year — for rejecting his head coaching offers. The Patriots took a Super Bowl-winning offense — an offense that set a Super Bowl record for the biggest comeback in history — and made it a lot better.

And while it’s hard to say whether New England will keep Cooks around, they certainly have the option to do so. The trade isn’t just a shortsighted deal that improves New England in 2017. They can exercise his fifth-year option in 2018, and sign him to an extension beyond that. He’s not going to fade anytime soon — he’s the sixth-youngest player on the Patriots roster. At just 23-years-old, Cooks is younger than Malcolm Mitchell, who just finished an impressive rookie campaign.

We’ll look back at this trade in two years and see the Patriots won the deal. And if the Patriots keep Cooks around after that, it will be highway robbery. It’s hard to imagine the Saints will get a player at No. 32 who will rival Cooks’ production for New England — even if it’s just for two years.