Buy or Sell: Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper
ADP: 58.2
WR: 23

Last year several rookie WRs, led by Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr., burst onto the scene, putting up massive numbers and helping many patient owners to fantasy football championships.

This year’s rookie crop includes Amari Cooper, a wideout from Alabama whom many think has game equal to or better than anyone who came into the league in 2014. But will it show right away on a team that has many shortcomings and has not made the playoffs since roughly 1882?

Buy: Vomhof

Amari Cooper is going to be a fantasy star. The only question is how soon.

Cooper lit up the SEC last year, racking up 124 catches for 1,727 yards and 16 TDs in 14 games. That includes a 9-71-2 line in the Super Bowl against a pro-style Ohio State defense.

The No. 4 overall pick in May’s draft, Cooper figures to make a major impact right away for the Oakland Raiders. He’s a gifted athlete—he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the NFL combine—and he’s already a more polished route runner than many NFL vets.

Second-year QB Derek Carr figures to look Cooper’s direction early and often this year—and the Raiders will, no doubt, be playing from behind a lot again this year. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Cooper haul in 80 balls this year.

Cooper currently is going in the fifth round of fantasy drafts. Yes, that sounds pretty aggressive, but he’s only being drafted as the WR23, behind guys like Keenan Allen and Sammy Watkins.

While I don’t expect Cooper to fill the stat line like Odell Beckham Jr. did last year, I’d be thrilled to grab him as my WR3 if I can get him in the late fifth or early sixth.

Sell: Andy

Let me start this the same way I’ve started a few of these “sell” write-ups. I love Amari Cooper. He is my favorite player from this draft. I think he is ultimately going to end up being a stud.

But it isn’t going to happen this year.

Cooper is thought by many to be the most ready and the most can’t-miss of the WR prospects in the 2015 draft. Again, I expect this to come true. But Cooper is catching passes from Raiders QB Derek Carr and he’s surrounded by … crickets? Michael Crabtree? Kenbrell Thompkins? Andre Holmes? Not exactly a group of wideouts that screams “I’m Amari Cooper, please don’t double-cover me.”

In fairness, Donald Penn led an offensive line that improved to 16th in 2014 as ranked by Pro Football Focus. And Latavius Murray cannot be any less durable than Darren McFadden has been. So I do think this team is heading in the right direction.

But I think catches and yards are going to be a difficult commodity for Cooper to maximize this season. Will he have some good days? Sure. Will he consistently match the numbers put up by last year’s rookies like Odell Beckham or Mike Evans? No, I think those days are a year or so off. In the meantime, I can get guys in equal or lower rounds, such as Vincent Jackson, Golden Tate — holy cow, I can get Tate after Cooper? — Martavis Bryant, Roddy White. And that is just at WR. If you’re in a keeper league, by all means, latch on. But if you’re in a redraft league, let someone else take the headache this year.

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