Amari Cooper Fantasy Football Outlook & Value 2019

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Amari Cooper was beginning to waste away in Oakland when a trade to the Dallas Cowboys gave him some revival. After a down year in 2017, Cooper was back above the 1,000 yard mark for the third time in his career. 2019 will be an interesting year to see how he can carry over the 2018 success with Dallas. There is a lot of hype surrounding Cooper and what he can bring as true WR1, and he is certainly being drafted as one. We will take a dive in and see if Cooper’s new home can justify the major jump in ADP.

2018 Fantasy Recap

The first six games of the season were looking a lot like 2017 for Amari Cooper. He had a 22-280-1 line over six games, and only had 31 targets. Yes, 31 targets. After being traded to the Cowboys, he played nine games and fit right in. Over those nine games he had a 53-725-6 line. His targets jumped from 5.1 per game in Oakland to 8.4 per game in Dallas. Finishing with a 75-1005-6 line is all the credit in the world given six of those games were with Oakland. Cooper has also had a durable stretch, and has had 100+ targets in three of the four years. Although, he would not have gotten there in Oakland for a full year. There is no doubt the move benefitted Cooper, but that is now behind him. He must build on a strong second half and churn it into a consistent career.

2019 Fantasy Outlook

Cooper was a top ten wideout when in Dallas over the remaining games. He is a fringe top ten wideout, who falls in line with 10-15 in terms of expected production for 2019. It is hard to say he just becomes a top five wideout, but there certainly is upside. The Cowboys also have one of the easier passing schedules. You might think that because the Cowboys are a run first team that the upside is capped, and that is just isn’t true. In fact, Dallas threw just as many times per game as Houston, New Orleans, and the Los Angeles Chargers last season. Plenty of upside in the passing game if you have an efficient and balanced offense. Michael Gallup is a strong WR2 candidate, but Cooper is the true WR1 in this offense.

Amari Cooper’s percentage of targets that were deemed catchable (per PFF):

– With Dak Prescott (96 targets): 74.5%
– With Derek Carr (389 targets): 64.0%

— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) June 20, 2019

Draft & Auction Value

Entering a range of names like T.Y. Hilton and Adam Thielen, Cooper is certainly deserving of this range for his ADP and auction value. He enters a full year with a much stabler offense and passing game, which will help his efficiency numbers. Cooper is hovering around the back end of the second round in some drafts or can go into the early third. Cooper is properly ranked in terms of ADP, but I wouldn’t go reaching into the mid second round for him, and some people certainly will. Love the upside, and love him as a very strong WR2 with WR1 upside. If Cooper comes in as your WR2, your group of wideouts should be off to an excellent start.