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A head above: New Packers TE Jared Cook strikes impressive pose

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- As Jared Cook moved from drill to drill -- or even when he simply stood on the sideline -- during the Green Bay Packers' practice earlier this week, you could always see one thing: his head.

The Packers’ biggest free-agent signing since Julius Peppers also happens to be nearly as tall as Peppers, who, at 6-foot-7, towers over everyone on the team. Cook comes the closest.

The 6-5 tight end came as advertised when reporters and fans got their first glimpse of him during Tuesday’s organized team activities practice.

“Big target, very, very athletic,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think anytime if you’re just talking purely throwing the football and you’ve got big targets that can move like he does, he’s been an excellent addition. He’s been everything we thought he would be.”

Cook’s striking stature was one of the first things Packers receiver Jordy Nelson, no shrimp at 6-3, noticed about his new teammate when offseason workouts began last month.

A tight end like Cook, who was released by the Rams in February, was exactly the kind of player McCarthy had in mind when he said in March that he wanted to attack the middle of the field with either a big receiver or a big tight end this coming season. That was before Cook signed his one-year, $2.75-million deal but after his free-agent visit to Green Bay.

“Jared is able to stretch the field a little bit with his little bit [of] extra speed,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I’m excited to get him up and going and get to these installs and see what he can do even more.”

If anyone’s excited, it’s Cook, who said he’s never played with a quarterback like Rodgers.

“He threads it on the needle like I’ve never seen before,” Cook said. “He does it off his back foot, sideways, sidearm, cross-body. You don’t see a lot of guys who have velocity on the ball who can throw the ball any type of way.

“Sam Bradford was probably the closest. He could thread the ball pretty well.”

Cook said shortly after he signed that playing with Rodgers was one of the attractions of the Packers, especially after going through 11 different quarterbacks in his first seven NFL seasons. He has never been to the playoffs; the Packers have been seven straight seasons.

“He didn’t have to tell me anything,” Cook said. “This place sells itself. I’ve always been a fan of Aaron. They play late-night games [while the Rams were] on our flights back, so we always used to see [the Packers] play and see the type of throws that he makes. Now that I’m here to see it in person, in practice, it’s even more incredible. I find myself sometimes still in awe of some of the things he does."