Amari Cooper is a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns. He hails from Miami, Florida, where he starred at Miami Northwestern High School. He went on to earn a scholarship to attend the University of Alabama and play football. There, he registered 228 receptions, 1,727 yards, and 16 touchdowns over three seasons. Roughly half of that production came in his junior and final season, where he was named the 2014 Biletnikoff Award winner and a unanimous 2014 First-Team All-American.
Cooper’s résumé was as sparkling as a receiver could generate in college. He declared for the 2015 NFL Draft, and the then Oakland Raiders selected him in the first round and fourth overall. There were glimpses of brilliance, but his Raiders tenure was rife with inconsistency. Yet he accrued 1,070 yards receiving in each of his first two seasons, but just 680 in his third season (2017) and 280 yards through the first six games of 2018 with the Raiders. The Cowboys gave him a fresh start, trading a first-round pick for him in 2018. Cooper finished 2018 with 725 yards in nine games in Dallas, and hauled in at least 79 receptions and 1,110 yards in the two following seasons. In Cooper's two full seasons as a Cowboy, he finished as the fantasy WR10 and the WR16.
Cooper was on pace for another strong season in 2021. He began the season with a bang, but he was again plagued by inconsistency. He played 14 games that season, bringing in at least five receptions in only six. The entire Cowboys’ offense was up and down, and he finished the 2021 season with 865 yards receiving. He did finish in the top-20 in Deep Targets and Red Zone Targets, but outside the top-30 in numerous metrics, including an 18.8-percent Target Share (No. 43), 11.5 (No. 32) Average Target Distance, 196 (No. 52) Yards After Catch, 8.4 (No. 41) Yards Per Target, and 1.90 (No. 38) Yards Per Route Run. Ultimately, Cooper finished the season as the WR28 in fantasy in 2021.
Cooper signed a five-year extension in 2021, with an out for the Cowboys in 2022. Instead of waiving him, Dallas traded him to the Cleveland Browns prior to the 2022 season in a deal that netted them a fifth round pick. Even with Jacoby Brissett and a very rusty Deshaun Watson, Cooper was incredibly productive for the Browns in 2022. He finished as a WR2 in fantasy, and was top-five in Air Yards among receivers.
Cooper once again delivered in 2023 as well despite low expectations going into his ninth season. He topped 1000 yards receiving for the seventh time in his career (1,250) and was the best player on a struggling offense. However, Cooper has made a career of being a boom-and-bust player, finishing outside the top 30 fantasy receivers six times.
Despite the acquisition of Jerry Jeudy this offseason, expect Cooper to once again be the top target for Deshaun Watson. Watson and Cooper have been a mixed bag so far in Cleveland but with less distractions in 2024 there is hope for the offense to improve.
