Cowboys Amari Cooper ready to remove any doubt what WR tier he belongs in for 2021

Amari Cooper is entering his seventh season in the NFL and through his first six he has proven to be a consistent threat and dependable player. He has eclipsed both the 70 reception and 1,000-yard mark in five of his six seasons. Still, it seems he constantly has something to prove to the general public as he is often left out of conversations regarding the NFL’s elite receivers.

Cooper is one of if not the best route runner in the NFL, and always presents tough matchups for any corner he faces. He’s just yet to put together one of those eye popping statistical seasons that would catapult him into such a conversation.

Some of that can be attributed to inconsistencies in his game from week to week and some to poor quarterback play. He fell out of favor with the Jon Gruden Raiders and was seeing almost two less targets per game than his first two years with Oakland, leading to his trade to Dallas for a 2019 first-round pick.

Targets wont be an issue for him in Dallas even with a budding star in Ceedee Lamb and the ultra talented Michael Gallup. Cooper has been the No. 1 receiver in Dallas the last two and a half seasons and has flashed dominance, already posting career highs in receiving yards in 2019 in receptions in 2020. The latter came without his starting quarterback Dak Prescott for the last 11 games of the season.

Our 2021 player profile countdown continues with No. 19, WR Amari Cooper.

Background Details

Jersey No.: 19 Position: Wide Receiver Age: 27 Height 6-foot-1 Weight: 210 Hometown: Miami, FL High School: Miami Northwestern College: Alabama Draft: 2015 Draft, Round 1, No. 4 overall(Raiders) Acquired: via trade with the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a 2019 First Round Pick.

NFL Stats

• 4x Pro Bowler

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(AP Photo/Danny Karnik)

(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Player Profile

Cooper is no stranger to being one of the most talented player on his team, he has been since he was attending high school at Northwestern in Miami, Fl. Cooper played with Teddy Bridgewater and was his primary target but his junior season was cut short with injury so he only caught 16 passes totaling 175 yards and four touchdowns. Cooper was healthy his senior season where he collected 33 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns, earning his first team 8A All-State honors. He was invited to and played in the 2012 Under Armor All-American Game where he had a 75-yard touchdown reception and a 93-yard punt return touchdown. A consensus four-star prospect Cooper committed to Alabama over other perennial powers Florida State, Miami and Ohio St. to name a few. Cooper went on to star at the University of Alabama where he was phenomenal, having an immediate impact as a freshman with 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. His sophomore year he dealt with injuries and finished with less catches, yards, and touchdowns than he did his freshman season, but boy did he flip a switch his junior season where he had a 124 catches, 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns. Cooper won the Biletnikoff Award for best receiver in the country and finished third in Heisman voting. Cooper was widely seen as the best receiver in the 2015 Draft class. At Alabama, Cooper consistently showed the advanced route running for a player his age that had many evaluators already considering his a polished route runner without playing a snap in the NFL. He also checked the boxes with his size, speed and ball skills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT84NCWwbuI He was selected with the fourth overall pick to the Oakland Raiders and did not disappoint his rookie season quickly emerging as the Raiders No. 1 receiver. He finished his rookie season with 72 catches, 1,070 yards and six touchdowns. After being traded to the Cowboys on October 22, 2018 he was expected to fix the lack of playmaking on the outside and he did just that forging a bond with quarterback Dak Prescott, quickly becoming the Cowboys No. 1 receiver. Cooper put the world on notice in that 2018 season against the Eagles when he showed just how dominant he can be racking up 13 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winning score in overtime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgAJeUaN8Io 2019 raised some questions as he faced some inconsistencies throughout the season especially on the road. One particular incident, where he allegedly removed himself from the Eagles game on 4th down with a chance to win the game and the division. However, in 2020 Amari Cooper appeared to fix those issues as he set a career high in catches, and week in and week out performed well despite the team struggles. There is no question about how talented Cooper is but he is capable of taking his game to an even higher level. Cooper knows he still has work to do to be considered an elite receiver, stating, “I think I’m the best receiver in the league. But it’s a difference between thinking that you’re the best and actually going out there and proving it. Do I think I’m the best? Yes. Have I proven it? I wouldn’t say I have.”

This profile is part of our countdown series to the regular season. For the full 90-man roster, go here. For our 53-man roster prediction, go here.

• • No. 99: DT Justin Hamilton

  • No. 98: DT Quinton Bohanna

  • No. 97: DL Ron'Dell Carter

  • No. 96: DT Neville Gallimore

  • No. 95: DT Brent Urban

  • No. 94: DE Randy Gregory

  • No. 93: DE Tarell Basham

  • No. 92: DE Dorance Armstrong

  • No. 91: DL Carlos Watkins

  • No. 90: DE DeMarcus Lawrence

  • No. 89: TE Blake Jarwin

  • No. 88: WR CeeDee Lamb

  • No. 87: TE Jeremy Sprinkle

  • No. 86: TE Dalton Schultz

  • No. 85: WR Noah Brown

  • No. 84: TE Sean McKeon

  • No. 83: WR Brennan Eagles

  • No. 81: WR Simi Fehoko

  • No. 79: OT Ty Nsekhe

  • No. 78: OT Terence Steele

  • No. 77: OT Tyron Smith

  • No. 75: OT Josh Ball

  • No. 97: DT Osa Odighizuwa

  • No. 72: DT Trysten Hill

  • No. 71: OT La'el Collins

  • No. 70: OG Zack Martin

  • No. 69: OL Brandon Knight

  • No. 68: OL Matt Farniok

  • No. 66: OG Connor McGovern

  • No. 63: C Tyler Biadasz

  • No. 60 OG Isaac Alarcon

  • No. 59 DE Chauncey Golston

  • No. 57 LB Luke Gifford

  • No. 56 DE Bradlee Anae

  • No. 55 LB Leighton Vander Esch

  • No. 52 OG Connor Williams

  • No. 14 LB Jabril Cox

  • No. 46 FB Nick Ralston

  • No. 44 LS Jake McQuaide

  • No. 42 LB Keanu Neal

  • No. 41 CB Reggie Robinson

  • No. 25 CB Nahshon Wright

  • No. 38 Safety Israel Mukuamu

  • No. 18 Safety Damontae Kazee

  • No. 34 RB Rico Dowdle

  • No. 31 CB Maurice Canady

  • No. 29 ST C.J. Goodwin

  • No. 7 (formely No. 27) CB Trevon Diggs

  • No. 26 CB Jourdan Lewis

  • No. 24 CB Kelvin Joseph

  • No. 23 Safety Darian Thompson

  • No. 21 RB Ezekiel Elliott

  • No. 20 RB Tony Pollard

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