Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones caught plenty of flak for trading a first-rounder for wide receiver Amari Cooper. He has since had the pleasure of watching his critics eat crow.
Cooper has been one of the best wideouts in the NFL since arriving in Dallas. According to Clarence E. Hill Jr. of The Star-Telegram, Jones is admittedly reveling in proving the doubters wrong:
Jones doesn’t deny feeling good about showing his critics he was right and they were wrong.
“I think a big part of doing things with the desire to excel is to show them,” Jones said. “I think that’s a major motivating factor, to show them. I think the way sports and football is — it just gives you a chance when people say ‘I don’t like that move, that’s not smart.’ I like this stuff. As a matter of fact, I make my worst grades when I’m being praised.”
It is easy to see why Jones may be feeling himself a bit. He took plenty of criticism for parting ways with a first-rounder in exchange for Cooper. It is no secret that early picks carry great value. However, the Cowboys are among the teams that have challenged the notion of it being more valuable than a Pro Bowl-caliber player.
Cooper had been in the midst of a nightmare year with the Raiders. His performance continued to fluctuate under new head coach Jon Gruden. His inconsistency raised further questions regarding why Dallas had made the trade. Meanwhile, the Cowboys were 3-4 and simply could not get anything going on offense. The deal has since managed to provide Dallas with plenty of bang for their buck.
Cooper has registered 40 receptions for 642 yards, and six touchdowns in six games with the Cowboys. His 642 receiving yards since arriving in Dallas are also the most in the NFL over that span. More importantly, they are now sitting at 8-5 with a comfortable lead in the NFC East Division.
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