Amari Cooper was interviewed recently, and expressed his happiness with getting out of Oakland. It's an improvement that showed up starkly on the stat sheet; he was a whole lot better in Dallas. A year of that in 2019 would look pretty good, if he can keep it going.
"The Raiders weren't a good fit for me," said Cooper in a radio interview. "I think the change of scenery was really necessary. I don't think if I would've stayed with the Raiders last season that I would've been able to flourish and reach some heights that I was able to reach as a Cowboy."
Cooper did have a couple of big games in Oakland last season, but his other four were duds. The overall output in those 6 games, on a per-game basis, was forgettable. Compare that to his per-game output in 9 games with Dallas. It's a pretty stark difference.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME, 2018 (6-PLUS GAMES) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | Run | TD | FF |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 16 | 5.4 | 92.4 | 9.4 | .88 | 15.4 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 15 | 6.9 | 86.5 | .0 | 1.00 | 14.6 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 15 | 7.4 | 92.4 | .0 | .89 | 14.6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 16 | 7.2 | 98.3 | -.4 | .69 | 13.9 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 16 | 7.1 | 104.8 | .8 | .50 | 13.6 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 16 | 5.4 | 95.3 | .0 | .56 | 12.9 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 12 | 6.4 | 87.7 | 6.0 | .56 | 12.7 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 16 | 7.1 | 85.8 | 1.9 | .58 | 12.3 |
| Amari Cooper, Dall. | 9 | 5.9 | 80.6 | 1.2 | .67 | 12.2 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 7.8 | 87.8 | .0 | .56 | 12.2 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 8 | 5.0 | 70.8 | 3.1 | .75 | 11.9 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 16 | 6.9 | 89.1 | .8 | .46 | 11.7 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 9 | 5.1 | 77.1 | .0 | .67 | 11.7 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 14 | 5.4 | 90.7 | .0 | .43 | 11.6 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 16 | 5.4 | 76.2 | 9.8 | .44 | 11.2 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 12 | 6.2 | 70.8 | 10.7 | .50 | 11.2 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 15 | 6.8 | 68.1 | 4.1 | .62 | 11.0 |
| Dante Pettis, S.F. | 7 | 3.3 | 65.0 | -.3 | .71 | 10.8 |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 7 | 4.6 | 71.9 | .0 | .57 | 10.6 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 12 | 5.9 | 72.3 | 5.6 | .44 | 10.5 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 14 | 5.4 | 73.4 | .2 | .50 | 10.4 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 16 | 3.6 | 60.3 | 4.3 | .65 | 10.3 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 6.1 | 74.8 | 4.7 | .40 | 10.3 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 16 | 5.0 | 75.3 | 4.3 | .38 | 10.2 |
| Robert Foster, Buff. | 6 | 3.7 | 67.7 | .0 | .50 | 9.8 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 13 | 5.0 | 64.8 | .0 | .46 | 9.3 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 12 | 3.4 | 64.5 | 2.4 | .42 | 9.2 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 15 | 4.7 | 70.9 | .5 | .33 | 9.1 |
| Josh Gordon, N.E. | 9 | 4.0 | 70.9 | .0 | .33 | 9.1 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 16 | 4.0 | 51.3 | 1.7 | .63 | 9.1 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 9 | 3.9 | 56.4 | .0 | .56 | 9.0 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 16 | 5.1 | 61.0 | 5.7 | .33 | 8.7 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 16 | 2.7 | 41.5 | 1.8 | .71 | 8.6 |
| Albert Wilson, Mia. | 6 | 4.0 | 52.8 | 2.7 | .50 | 8.6 |
| Geronimo Allison, G.B. | 5 | 4.0 | 60.6 | .0 | .40 | 8.5 |
| Josh Reynolds, LAR | 8 | 3.3 | 45.6 | 1.0 | .63 | 8.4 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 15 | 3.7 | 52.8 | .0 | .49 | 8.2 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 6 | 3.7 | 52.5 | 6.8 | .33 | 7.9 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 14 | 3.6 | 53.7 | -.6 | .43 | 7.9 |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 10 | 4.2 | 59.7 | 12.6 | .10 | 7.8 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 13 | 4.2 | 58.0 | .7 | .31 | 7.7 |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 10 | 4.0 | 51.9 | 5.2 | .30 | 7.5 |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 16 | 4.1 | 55.7 | 3.4 | .25 | 7.4 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 16 | 4.1 | 52.4 | 2.9 | .31 | 7.4 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 16 | 4.1 | 44.8 | 6.1 | .38 | 7.3 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 16 | 4.1 | 54.5 | 2.1 | .27 | 7.3 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 15 | 4.9 | 53.0 | 2.3 | .29 | 7.3 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 16 | 4.3 | 45.9 | 1.0 | .42 | 7.2 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 13 | 3.8 | 47.5 | .0 | .38 | 7.1 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 16 | 4.8 | 51.0 | .7 | .31 | 7.0 |
| TreQuan Smith, N.O. | 10 | 2.6 | 39.8 | .0 | .50 | 7.0 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 10 | 4.1 | 51.6 | .0 | .30 | 7.0 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 16 | 3.5 | 40.8 | .0 | .46 | 6.8 |
| Demarcus Robinson, K.C. | 6 | 2.3 | 37.2 | .0 | .50 | 6.7 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 12 | 3.6 | 49.2 | 2.9 | .25 | 6.7 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 15 | 3.9 | 45.1 | .0 | .33 | 6.5 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 15 | 2.5 | 36.9 | .1 | .47 | 6.5 |
| John Brown, Balt. | 16 | 2.6 | 44.7 | .3 | .31 | 6.4 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 16 | 4.0 | 46.0 | 2.5 | .25 | 6.3 |
| Kendrick Bourne, S.F. | 8 | 3.6 | 47.6 | .0 | .25 | 6.3 |
| Rashard Higgins, Cle. | 13 | 3.0 | 44.0 | .0 | .31 | 6.2 |
| Jordy Nelson, Oak. | 15 | 4.2 | 49.3 | -.1 | .22 | 6.2 |
| Phillip Dorsett, N.E. | 7 | 3.4 | 32.0 | 4.1 | .43 | 6.2 |
| Antonio Callaway, Cle. | 15 | 2.9 | 39.1 | .5 | .36 | 6.1 |
| Tyrell Williams, LAC | 16 | 2.6 | 40.8 | .9 | .31 | 6.1 |
| Jamison Crowder, Was. | 9 | 3.2 | 43.1 | 3.3 | .22 | 6.0 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 16 | 2.6 | 44.0 | -.1 | .25 | 5.9 |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 11 | 2.1 | 35.9 | .8 | .36 | 5.9 |
| Anthony Miller, Chi. | 15 | 2.2 | 28.2 | 2.0 | .47 | 5.8 |
| Keke Coutee, Hou. | 6 | 4.7 | 47.8 | .0 | .17 | 5.8 |
| David Moore, Sea. | 13 | 2.0 | 34.2 | .4 | .38 | 5.8 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 6 | 3.7 | 46.7 | 1.5 | .17 | 5.8 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 13 | 2.8 | 44.5 | 2.2 | .15 | 5.6 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 9 | 4.2 | 42.6 | .0 | .22 | 5.6 |
| Paul Richardson, Was. | 7 | 2.9 | 37.4 | 1.3 | .29 | 5.6 |
I cropped the table at 5.5 fantasy points (1 point for 10 yards and 6 for touchdowns). A top-10 wideout in Dallas was down around 75th in Oakland.
Cooper is in need of a new contract, but it doesn't sound like the kind of thing that's going to be a problem. Dallas wants -- needs -- to keep him around long-term, and it sounds like Cooper wants to be there. Could be a top-10 wideout in 2019, as well.
--Andy Richardson