Amari Cooper trade value on last legs with Cowboys’ Matt Waletzko

The Cowboys made one of their all-time boldest midseason moves when they traded a first-round pick to the Raiders for Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper in 2018. Cooper, 24 at the time, transformed Dallas’ passing attack almost overnight. After starting the season 3-5, the Cowboys would go on to win seven of their next eight, advancing to the second round of the playoffs and establishing the Cowboys as one of the NFL’s most preeminent offenses for years to come.

By 2022, the tide had turned in Dallas. Citing price and availability, but possibly involving matters outside of the game itself, Cooper was sent packing for Cleveland. Despite being regarded as one of the top WRs in the game, Dallas only received a fifth rounder and a sixth-round pick swap in return.

The pick swap brought over Devin Harper, a player no longer on the roster. That fifth-round pick produced Matt Waletzko, an offensive tackle from North Dakota.

Waletzko, considered a possible sleeper pick by many draftniks, represented both risk and reward. The 6-foot-8, 320-pound OT boasted 36-inch arms and quick feet. He came from a humble program well outside the Power Five but impressed enough throughout Senior Bowl practices to show he had true NFL potential.

Lingering shoulder issues and various other injuries have held Waletzko back since joining the Cowboys. The now-24-year-old has only played in four games as a pro, logging just 19 snaps between special teams and offense. Facing a crowded position group in 2024, it’s put-up or shut-up time for Waletzko this season and the Cowboys last chance to savage any value from the head-scratching trade they made two years ago.

Since the trade, Cooper has gone on to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2023 while logging a career-high receiving total in the process. Michael Gallup, the man the Cowboys chose to pay instead of Cooper back in 2022, never fully rebounded from a January 2022 ACL injury. Dallas released Gallup over the offseason leaving only Waletzko as an on-roster reminder of the trade that still bothers fans to this day.

With so many unknowns at left tackle, right tackle and swing tackle, Waletzko will certainly have an opportunity to compete for a spot. A reserve role may be his only realistic chance at making the roster in 2024. It’s not a Pro Bowl return for Cooper but most will agree even a reserve role is better than nothing.

The Cowboys are unlikely to get anything close to fair trade value from the Cooper trade two years ago but as long as Walezko’s on the roster, the Cowboys can at least claim something.

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Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire