Cowboys' Brandin Cooks Talks Texans Squandering No. 1 Pick: 'Never Suit Up to Lose'

In Brandin Cooks' last game for Houston before being traded to Dallas, the wide receiver helped lead the Texans to a comeback win that lost Houston the first pick in the 2023 draft.

Even knowing what was at stake, the Texans could not have purposefully lost that pivotal game, Cooks said on an April 4 episode of ESPN's Adam Schefter's podcast (h/t the Dallas Morning News).

"Well, you never suit up to lose, right?" Cooks told Schefter. "And so you know that No. 1 pick is out there, but at the end of the day, you go out between those white lines, you're putting out your resume. So as a competitor, you're not going out there saying, 'I'm not going to give them my all because I want the Texans to have the No. 1 pick.' You go out there, you give it your all and let the chips fall where they fall."

Where the chips fell on January 8 was a close game between the Texans and the Indianapolis Colts. Cooks opened the scoring by catching an 11-yard touchdown pass from Davis Mills.

After leading the entire game, Houston fell behind Indianapolis with 10-and-a-half minutes to go in the fourth quarter. A 54-yard field goal from the Colts' Chase McLaughlin brought the deficit to seven points.

Then, Jordan Akins pulled down a desperate pass from Mills in the end zone with less than 60 seconds left.

Akins added a two-point conversion, and the Texans took the last-minute lead.

The Houston victory, combined with a loss from the Chicago Bears, meant the Bears dropped to 3-14 and knocked the 3-13-1 Texans out of contention for the No. 1 pick.

The Texans last picked first overall in 2014 when they selected defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. This year, it is predicted the team will select either Alabama's Bryce Young or Ohio State's C.J. Stroud at No. 2.

The Texans will not get first pick between Young and Stroud, however, all thanks to that January comeback.

"It was a nail-biter, and most people were probably like, 'Wait, why are you guys winning?'" Cooks said. "We don't play to lose, at least from a player's standpoint."