Amari Cooper was a star under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama and developed into one of the best all-around receivers in college football. The hype was real surrounding him and in 2015, the Oakland Raiders selected him with the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft that year. Along with Derek Carr, the two developed a nice chemistry and seemed to be almost too good at times and I gave them the nickname “AC/DC” after the legendary rock group. Over the weekend, the reports came out that he was on the trading block and it made me question Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders because how can you convince your football team that you’re trying to win when you’ve already traded away your best all-around football player in Khalil Mack? Well, he did it again today and Amari Cooper is now on the move to Texas to become a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
I actually like this trade a lot because the Cowboys were in desperate need of a true number one wide receiver. Allen Hurns hasn’t really been cutting it and Cole Beasley is truly their only threat that can stretch the field from a vertical standpoint. When it comes to route running, I could watch this kid move around all day long because of how crafty and fluid he is with it. He’s very elusive with strong hands and he can make all of the catches, even the ones where he comes out of nowhere and makes the grab in between two defenders. He’s a player that can be moved around everywhere whether it’s wide as your typical receiver or even in the slot, his team will do whatever they can to make sure that he’s open for any type of look down the field. I remember one year in a game against the Chargers, he was lined up in the slot and the corner was playing off of him in a zone look. He saw that and just used his speed to burst by him and Derek hit him with a perfect pass down the field and he took it to the house for six points. He’s an explosive guy that can make a five-yard catch and potentially take it to the house or even if it’s on a longer reception, he’s capable of doing many things with the football in his hands.
This gives the Cowboys a new dimension offensively and he will benefit greatly from the presence of Ezekiel Elliott because of how teams will stack and load up the box which will allow Cooper to see many single man looks on the outside. This will also give Dak Prescott another weapon outside of Cole Beasley. We will see if this move is enough to keep them afloat in the madness that is the NFC East.
