2019 NFL Draft Guide Player Profile: Amari Cooper

In his first two professional seasons, Amari Cooper made the Pro Bowl and notched 1,000 receiving yards. Then, 2017 happened, where he caught just half of his targets (48-of-96) for a measly 680 yards, but did manage to set a single season best of seven touchdowns. After a handful of unproductive weeks with the Oakland Raiders to begin the 2018 season (22 receptions for 280 yards and one touchdown across six games) led to him being traded to America’s team in exchange for a first round draft pick. After all of the criticism, Cooper flashed the WR1 brilliance that he displayed in some good seasons with Derek Carr out west. Was it the change of scenery? Was it the number change? There were a lot of factors that went into the reemergence of Cooper in Dallas, but fantasy owners are here for it nonetheless.

From the naked eye, it was no surprise that Cooper was better in Dallas than he was in Oakland in 2018. Check it yourself.

When you take a deeper dive, the results become even more staggering (per Pro Football Focus).

In fact, since Cooper made his debut with the Cowboys in Week 8, he was one of the more productive fantasy wideouts. He ranked within the top-15 wide receivers (whom received at least 50 targets from Week 8 on) in the following categories: Targets, receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, targets of at least 20 yards downfield and yards per route run. Say what you want about Cooper and how he ruined your fantasy teams in 2017, but especially over the last half of the season, fantasy owners were ecstatic to have the talented wideout on their roster.

However, what inspires confidence for Cooper in 2019 isn’t simply that his stats improved since donning the blue and white, but what he did with Dak Prescott in Dallas. Prescott got better with a tried and true, bonafide top receiver. In eight games without Cooper, Prescott posted a 8:4 TD/INT ratio, a measly 6.9 yards per attempt and a league average passing grade, per PFF. However, with Cooper at his disposal, Prescott posted a 14:4 TD/INT and an improved 7.7 yards per attempt. He also completed 71.3 percent of his passes with Cooper on the team, which was tied for third best after the acquisition.

Per Fantasy Alarm’s strength of schedule tool, the Cowboys have a favorable schedule for members involved in the passing attack, particularly wideouts. Using data from last season, the Cowboys square off against four of the five teams that allowed the most fantasy points to wideouts last season, including playing the Eagles twice! They also play the Redskins twice, and they also ranked in the top-10 in terms of allowing the most fantasy points to opposing receivers. The beauty of this, is that none of these teams drafted a cornerback in the first five rounds of the draft. Sure, it’s a new year and players are coming off injuries or getting healthy, but this is certainly a fun factoid to increase Cooper’s appeal for the 2019 campaign.

Since he joined the Cowboys, Cooper put up the ninth-most fantasy points in a PPR format, while his 0.32 fantasy points per snap and 3.01 fantasy points per touch rivaled Michael Thomas (0.33) and Tyreek Hill (3.05). Yes, there was some stink on Cooper coming into the season after a down 2017 campaign, but the stink has since faded and it’s mostly shine with the No. 1 receiver in Dallas.

In NFFC drafts, Cooper is currently the 13^th receiver off the board, making him a solid value heading into the season. He was a top-10 fantasy receiver during his time in Dallas and that should carry over into 2019.

Statistical Credits:
profootballfocus.com
pro-football-reference.com
nfc.shgn.com/adp/football