Amari Cooper yesterday said he wants to remain a Dallas Cowboy for life. A little over a week ago, new coach Mike McCarthy said he wanted to bring back both Cooper and Randall Cobb, who's also a free agent. Drop numbers suggest the team would really miss Cooper; Cobb, perhaps not as much.
Cooper, Cobb and Michael Gallup were the team's top three wideouts a year ago. Two of those players were among the NFL's worst four (50-plus catchable targets) in terms of dropped passes. Gallup dropped over 14 percent of the catchable balls he saw, Cobb just under 13 percent. Gallup comes off a breakout season and isn't going anywhere. Difficult to look at Cobb's performance and see him as a priority to bring back.
| DROPPED PASSES, 2019 (50 CATCHABLE TARGETS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Drop | Pct | Tgt |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 66 | 11 | 14.3% | 77 |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 57 | 9 | 13.6% | 66 |
| Chris Conley, Jac. | 47 | 7 | 13.0% | 54 |
| Randall Cobb, Dall. | 55 | 8 | 12.7% | 63 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 53 | 7 | 11.7% | 60 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 100 | 13 | 11.5% | 113 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 54 | 7 | 11.5% | 61 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 58 | 7 | 10.8% | 65 |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 79 | 9 | 10.2% | 88 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 64 | 7 | 9.9% | 71 |
| Jaylen Samuels, Pitt. | 47 | 5 | 9.6% | 52 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 67 | 7 | 9.5% | 74 |
| Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 78 | 8 | 9.3% | 86 |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 49 | 5 | 9.3% | 54 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl-NE | 59 | 6 | 9.2% | 65 |
| Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 59 | 6 | 9.2% | 65 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 63 | 6 | 8.7% | 69 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 63 | 6 | 8.7% | 69 |
| Odell Beckham, Cle. | 74 | 7 | 8.6% | 81 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 65 | 6 | 8.5% | 71 |
| Cole Beasley, Buff. | 67 | 6 | 8.2% | 73 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 58 | 5 | 7.9% | 63 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 83 | 7 | 7.8% | 90 |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 72 | 6 | 7.7% | 78 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 97 | 8 | 7.6% | 105 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 49 | 4 | 7.5% | 53 |
| Hunter Renfrow, Oak. | 49 | 4 | 7.5% | 53 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 76 | 6 | 7.3% | 82 |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 52 | 4 | 7.1% | 56 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 52 | 4 | 7.1% | 56 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 52 | 4 | 7.1% | 56 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 54 | 4 | 6.9% | 58 |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 55 | 4 | 6.8% | 59 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 98 | 7 | 6.7% | 105 |
| John Brown, Buff. | 72 | 5 | 6.5% | 77 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 72 | 5 | 6.5% | 77 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 58 | 4 | 6.5% | 62 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 104 | 7 | 6.3% | 111 |
| Amari Cooper, Dall. | 79 | 5 | 6.0% | 84 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 81 | 5 | 5.8% | 86 |
| Golden Tate, NYG | 49 | 3 | 5.8% | 52 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 116 | 7 | 5.7% | 123 |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 83 | 5 | 5.7% | 88 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia-Ari | 50 | 3 | 5.7% | 53 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 50 | 3 | 5.7% | 53 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 68 | 4 | 5.6% | 72 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 52 | 3 | 5.5% | 55 |
| Anthony Miller, Chi. | 52 | 3 | 5.5% | 55 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 88 | 5 | 5.4% | 93 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 90 | 5 | 5.3% | 95 |
| Darren Waller, Oak. | 90 | 5 | 5.3% | 95 |
| D.J. Chark, Jac. | 73 | 4 | 5.2% | 77 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 58 | 3 | 4.9% | 61 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 63 | 3 | 4.5% | 66 |
| D.J. Moore, Car. | 87 | 4 | 4.4% | 91 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 3 | 4.3% | 69 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 90 | 4 | 4.3% | 94 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 48 | 2 | 4.0% | 50 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 49 | 2 | 3.9% | 51 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 99 | 4 | 3.9% | 103 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 149 | 6 | 3.9% | 155 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 104 | 4 | 3.7% | 108 |
| A.J. Brown, Ten. | 52 | 2 | 3.7% | 54 |
| Danny Amendola, Det. | 62 | 2 | 3.1% | 64 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 62 | 2 | 3.1% | 64 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 94 | 3 | 3.1% | 97 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den-SF | 66 | 2 | 2.9% | 68 |
| Le'Veon Bell, NYJ | 66 | 2 | 2.9% | 68 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 69 | 2 | 2.8% | 71 |
| James White, N.E. | 72 | 2 | 2.7% | 74 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 82 | 2 | 2.4% | 84 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 85 | 2 | 2.3% | 87 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 57 | 1 | 1.7% | 58 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 59 | 1 | 1.7% | 60 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 75 | 1 | 1.3% | 76 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 86 | 1 | 1.1% | 87 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 92 | 1 | 1.1% | 93 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 75 | 0 | .0% | 75 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 51 | 0 | .0% | 51 |
Cooper, dropping 6 percent of catchable balls sent his way, was middle of the pack in this regard. That's a whole lot better than Gallup and Cobb. He'd be missed, obviously. The Cowboys are trying to work something out with him before the start of free agency, and Cooper's words yesterday at least suggest there's some common ground. (You probably wouldn't say you wanted to be a Cowboy for life if you were miles apart in negotiations.)
I note that another Cowboy free agent shows up fairly high on this list: Jason Witten. Considering Witten was running 7-8-yard routes yet still managed to drop 6 passes, that's not so good.
--Andy Richardson