The NFL trade deadline is rapidly approaching and with Earl Thomas out of the picture the hottest name to emerge as a potential target for the Dallas Cowboys is Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper. The Oakland Raiders are reportedly open to dealing the star wideout and the Dallas Cowboys are in dire need of #1 wide receiver. The Dallas Cowboys are often mentioned as potential suitors any time a recognizable name becomes available but this one may actually make sense. The Cowboys were willing to offer a lucrative free agent contract in the summer to Sammy Watkins, another young wide receiver with star potential, so they have already shown that they are willing to roll the dice for big time talent. The question is, would an Amari Cooper trade be a good idea for the Dallas Cowboys?
Financially, an Amari Cooper trade would be far cheaper than a deal for a veteran player like Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos. On his current rookie deal, Cooper would count just over $7 million against the salary cap in 2018. (source: www.overthecap.com) That number would jump in 2019 to $14 million but there is an option to cut him and free up that cap space if he does not play well. Those numbers are a bargain compared to what it would cost to sign a #1 WR in free agency in 2019 and Cooper is still young. The problem there is that his age and contract could drive his value up substantially.
According to NFL Network analyst Ian Rapoport the price that the Oakland Raiders are demanding is no less than a 1st round pick. That price tag is absurd given Amari Cooper’s recent struggles with dropped passes and inconsistency. Furthermore, since a team can use a #1 pick to draft a WR in 2019 and then lock them for up to 5 years on their rookie deal, why would any team even consider such a deal? It would have to be a desperate team, a team that is one player away from making a Super Bowl run. Are the Dallas Cowboys such a team?
Right now the Dallas Cowboys are 3-3 and in the mix for the division lead and/or a wildcard playoff spot but aside from a strong showing last week against Jackonsville, they do not look like a Super Bowl team. The offense has looked pretty bad, especially on the road, and they don’t appear to be one WR away from solving all of their problems. But adding a guy like Amari Cooper would certainly help. Cooper has been much more productive in his career than any of the potential number #1 receivers on the Cowboys roster during that same span. Cooper has also been more productive than the former #1 WR that the Dallas Cowboys cut in the offseason, one Dez Bryant. And, Amari Cooper has been more productive than another WR from the 2015 draft, who is also on the trading block and has also been linked to the Cowboys, DeVante Parker of the Miami Dolphins.
| Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | From | To | CarAV | G | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Lng |
| 1 | Cole Beasley | 2015 | 2018 | 14 | 53 | 189 | 1977 | 16 | 10.5 | 54 |
| 2 | Dez Bryant | 2015 | 2017 | 14 | 38 | 150 | 2035 | 17 | 13.6 | 56 |
| 3 | Amari Cooper | 2015 | 2018 | 24 | 52 | 225 | 3183 | 19 | 14.1 | 87 |
| 4 | Allen Hurns | 2015 | 2018 | 14 | 42 | 146 | 2076 | 16 | 14.2 | 80 |
| 5 | DeVante Parker | 2015 | 2018 | 13 | 45 | 141 | 1948 | 8 | 13.8 | 56 |
| 6 | Terrance Williams | 2015 | 2018 | 15 | 51 | 151 | 2020 | 7 | 13.4 | 56 |
Clearly Amari Cooper has been far more productive than any of those guys but he has played in a different offense and he has been targeted far more often as well. If you compare how efficient each of those receivers have been in terms of catch % (% of catches to targets) then Amari Cooper does not set himself apart from the rest of those guys.
| Player | Targets | Receptions | Catch % |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeVante Parker | 237 | 141 | 59.5% |
| Dez Bryant | 909 | 531 | 58,4% |
| Cole Beasley | 398 | 280 | 70,4% |
| Terrance Williams | 375 | 232 | 61.9% |
| Allen Hurns | 356 | 197 | 55.3% |
| Amari Cooper | 390 | 225 | 57.7% |
Amari Cooper has a worse catch % than any one of those wide receivers with the exception of Allen Hurns. That was with Derek Carr throwing him the ball and he is certainly a more accurate passer than Dak Prescott is at this point in his career. Analyzing those numbers, it does not appear likely that Amari Cooper would be more productive on a per target basis than the other Cowboys receivers currently on the roster. Also, unlike in Oakland, Dak Prescott likes to spread the ball around rather than targeting a single receiver so it would be a fair assumption that Cooper would not get as many targets in Dallas as he was receiving in Oakland and therefore his production would also decrease.
So to answer the question…”Is an Amari Cooper trade to Dallas a good idea?”, I offer the following conclusion. The asking price is too high, the Cowboys are not one player away from winning a Super Bowl and Amari Cooper would not produce like a true #1 wide receiver. For those three reasons, an Amari Cooper trade to Dallas would not be a wise decision.
All Data and statistics obtained and verified through https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
Overthecap.com https://overthecap.com/player/amari-cooper/3852
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode