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The Dallas Cowboys have been criticized in many circles by giving up a first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders to acquire wide receiver Amari Cooper. But Cowboys coach Jason Garrett believes that’s just the price they had to pay to acquire a player of Cooper’s caliber.
“The value for a player like that at his age, that’s really what it costs you,” Garrett said during a weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “It costs you a first round pick. If we were to get him in the draft next spring, you would say, ‘Boy, is there any receiver who is as good as a guy like Amari Cooper?’ He’s not 28, 29, 30. You’re not paying for a guy for what he’s done for the past six, seven, eight years for another team.”
“He’s 24 years old,” Garrett said. “We think he has a bright future.”
Cooper, who was the fourth overall pick by the Raiders in the 2015 draft, began his NFL career very strongly. He posted back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons and made the Pro Bowl in both years.
However, he’s always had problems with drops, and his production has dipped dramatically over the last two years. He had just 48 catches for 680 yards with seven touchdowns in 14 games last year. And in six games this season, he's only got 22 catches for 280 yards and a touchdown.
But the Cowboys clearly believe Cooper is capable of returning to the sort of level he played at in 2015-16. If he does, he should be worth the first-rounder the Cowboys gave up for him as Jason Garrett attests.
