Amari Cooper Must Get Support From QB For Fantasy Stability
Amari Cooper delivered another solid year in fantasy last year. Cooper finished as WR13 in fantasy points per game last year in half-PPR formats (minimum of 14 games played). FantasyPros had his ADP listed as 39th overall and WR18 off the board in 2023, so he was a draft-day value for your team. As of now, Cooper is listed as the 47th overall pick and WR26 off the board.
The drop in ADP seems to be due to many people not having faith in Deshaun Watson as a passing Quarterback. It’s a valid concern when you look at some of Watson’s numbers. One of the most eye-catching statistics is that Watson had the highest rate of incompletions due to inaccurate passes, with 43.9% (a mini of 175 pass attempts per Warren Sharp). The next three closest QBs were Tyrod Taylor, Trevor Siemian, and Bryce Young, who all finished at least 3.3% or better than Watson. This is reason to worry about any Browns pass catcher.
However, last year, Cooper was the only Wide Receiver to develop a true connection with Watson. Watson played in five games last season, and he played at least 92% of the snaps. In those games, Amari Cooper caught 28 of 39 targets for 480 yards and 2 touchdowns. That would have given Amari Cooper a 17-game pace of 95 receptions off of 133 targets for 1,632 yards and 7 touchdowns.
If Cooper played all 17 games and finished with those numbers, he would have been the WR4 last season behind just Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyreek Hill, and CeeDee Lamb. Cooper had the 7th most downfield receptions (20+ air yards) with 13, which resulted in the 2nd most yards off these receptions with 549 yards. Cooper also tied Tyreek Hill with the most 50+ yard plays in the league amongst Wide Receivers with 5.
He also had the third-highest yards per reception with 17.4 yards (minimum of 70 targets). When facing man coverage, Cooper received a target on 31.1% of his routes run, which was the fifth-highest rate in the league. Cooper is a true dominant Wide Receiver who can be relied on to win the 50/50 ball, as he had the fourth-most contested catches in the league with 15. That is an important number when Watson consistently makes questionable decisions.
The Browns did bring in former Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Jerry Jeudy, but Jeudy has consistently disappointed in the NFL since Denver drafted him with the 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Jeudy has yet to break 1,000 receiving yards in a season and has never topped 70 receptions. Cooper will continue to be the go-to guy as long as he is on the team. Look for Cooper to be a solid value in the late 4th/early 5th round of redraft leagues this year.
Our consensus projections for Cooper in the 2024 season would be: 79 receptions, 1185 yards, 7 touchdowns through the air and 0 carries for 0 yards and 0 rushing touchdowns.
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