Another day, another significant NFL transaction. The latest involves a veteran receiver heading to the AFC.
What does Amari Cooper‘s trade to the Cleveland Browns mean for the wide receiver, his new quarterback Baker Mayfield, and all others involved? Derek Brown and Andrew Erickson are here to break down the fantasy football implications of the deal.
And don’t miss the rest of our takeaways from all of the recent news:
- Carson Wentz Trade
- Russell Wilson Trade
- Calvin Ridley Suspension
- Aaron Rodgers Contract Extension
- Mike Williams Contract Extension
- NFL Franchise Tag Reactions
Check out Andrew Erickson’s NFL Free Agency Primer 
Amari Cooper Traded to Browns: Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
Last year, Amari Cooper’s numbers dipped across the board, as he finished with an 18.8% target share as the WR27. Cooper is only one season removed from back-to-back top-24 wide receiver seasons (WR21, WR14), so call me an optimist that at age 27, he isn’t already staring at his efficiency cliff. Per PFF, Cooper also saw his yards per route run drop to 1.63, but he finished with 1.81 or higher in each of his previous three seasons. That makes 2021 look like an outlier without even factoring in that Cooper dealt with COVID-19, hamstring issues, and bruised ribs at various points in the season.
The knee-jerk reaction will be for many to fade Cooper as he lands on a run-heavy team with a quarterback in Baker Mayfield who has disappointed with top receivers before (insert obligatory Odell Beckham reference). As I process this move and the fallout, consider me on the other side of this coin. Cooper could see a boost in volume this year with the move to the Browns. While Cleveland finished with the ninth-highest neutral rushing rate (47%) overall last year, when we zoom in further, this could change in 2022. After Week 11, Cleveland had the 12th-highest passing rate (57%) in close games. If this continues, Cooper’s situation could be rosier than it seems at first glance. He saw only 6.9 targets per game in a congested Dallas passing tree. Jarvis Landry averaged 7.9 targets per game after Beckham was off the team. I don’t think it’s a hot take that Cooper is a superior player to Landry at this stage of their careers. If targets are earned (they are), Cooper could command more in a consolidated passing tree than Landry saw last year.
I expect Cooper’s ADP (WR22, 46.5 overall per Underdog Fantasy) to fall as news of the trade circulates. I’ll be scooping him up on numerous best ball squads right now as an upside WR3 play and in redraft if he settles into round 5-6 territory.
– Derek Brown
Amari Cooper is set to find a new home with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, with Dallas unable to take on his $22 million cap hit. He finished last season 27th in half-PPR per game (11.2), which is in line with his career average.
His nine touchdowns were a career-high, but he was volatile as ever on a weekly basis. Cooper finished as a top-10 fantasy WR thrice, but outside WR3 territory in nine other contests. Part of his boom-or-bust nature was due to the high target competition in Dallas – Cooper commanded just a 15% target share.
There is hope that he can provide a higher floor if with him the clear No. 1 wide receiver in Cleveland. Jarvis Landry may not be back, and Donovan Peoples-Jones is not a No. 1.
Landry’s best season with the Browns came in 2019 when he averaged 12.2 fantasy points per game in half-point scoring as the WR13. The former LSU star’s production fell off in the last two seasons amid Baker Mayfield’s struggles.
Landry displayed a higher fantasy ceiling in games that OBJ missed from 2020-2021 averaging 11.2 points per game in 2020 (nine games) and 9.5 points per game in 2021 (ten games).
Jarvis Landry fantasy finishes half-point scoring (2018-2021)
- WR19, 11.0 – 2018
- WR13, 12.2 – 2019
- WR36, 10.1 – 2020
- WR56, 8.9 – 2021
Seems that the worst-case scenario for Cooper is that he finishes as the fantasy WR3 range in 2022 based on projected target volume.
Obviously there is room to grow if Mayfield can bounce back from an injury-plagued 2021. It’s not being discussed enough that before Mayfield separated his shoulder in Week 6 he ranked sixth in yards per attempt (8.5) and 7th in aDOT (9.6).
The Browns quarterback has shown the agility to support multiple fantasy weapons (not-named OBJ when healthy) so Cooper should be firmly in the fantasy WR2 conversation during the draft season.
Cooper’s ADP is WR22 on Underdog Best Ball.
– Andrew Erickson
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