Amari Cooper Is a Value Pick to Lead NFL in Receiving

Dak Prescott is back and so are the expectations for the Dallas Cowboys’ offense in the 2021 season. 

Prescott ended up missing most of the 2020 season after suffering an ankle injury in Week 5, and the Cowboys struggled mightily with a combination of Ben DiNucci, Andy Dalton and Garrett Gilbert under center the rest of the season. 

The uncertainty at quarterback hurt the Cowboys receiving core, especially Amari Cooper, who had picked up 401 yards on 37 catches (51 targets) in the first four games of the season. He totaled just 23 yards in the Week 5 matchup where Prescott was injured. 

For the rest of the year, Cooper had just 53 catches for 690 yards, and while he broke the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season, it seemed like he fell short of what was looking to be a monster campaign. 

Cooper, who has been nursing an ankle injury this offseason but was activated off the physically unable to perform list, is 10th on the odds list at WynnBET to lead the NFL in receiving in 2021 at +2000 odds. 

I think that may be a bargain. 

The Cowboys averaged 371.2 passing yards per game in Prescott’s five starts, and Cooper was averaging over 100 yards per contest through the first quarter of the season with Dak healthy. Last season, Stefon Diggs led the league with 1,535 yards, and Cooper was actually on pace to finish with over 1,600 through the first four weeks. 

“I've been rehabbing so hard,” Cooper said. “Just trying to be the best Amari Cooper that I can be, trying to be better than I've ever been. I've been talking to myself a lot lately about how I want this year to be different than any year that I've played football."

While it’s impossible to extrapolate a small sample size like that, Cooper certainly has an argument playing in a Dallas offense that is expected to throw the ball all over the yard. WynnBET has the Cowboys sixth on the odds list to lead the NFL in points next season and Prescott (+400) is just behind Patrick Mahomes (+350) as the favorite to lead the league in passing yards. 

The concern for Cooper’s outlook is the weapons that Dallas has on the outside including CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. 

However, the Chiefs had Travis Kelce (second) and Tyreek Hill (eighth) both finish in the top 10 in receiving yards last season. It’s not easy, but multiple players can succeed in a high-powered offense. 

In addition, in Prescott’s five starts, Cooper saw 55 targets to Gallup’s 28 and Lamb’s 40. If you look at the four games that Prescott finished, Cooper (51) easily led the target share between the three wideouts, as Lamb (29) and Gallup (24) combined for just two more targets than Cooper. 

At +2000 odds, I don’t think Cooper is completely out of the running to lead the NFL in receiving and if last year was any indication, the Cowboys want to throw it a ton with Prescott under center.

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