Amari Cooper was a game changing player from the moment he showed up at The Star in Frisco, Texas. In the first game against the Tennessee Titans, you could just tell that this was a different kind of player. The Cowboys hadn't had a wide receiver with his mixture of size and skill.
Cooper to me showed off the brilliant route running of Cole Beasley, in a body similar to Dez Bryant. Oh, and with 4.4 speed.
Electric.
But Amari Cooper's presence with the Dallas Cowboys may not have happened in 2018 if any one of a number of dominoes didn't fall during the 2018 offseason and regular season.
Shunned by Sammy
Early in the free agency period, it was reported that the Dallas Cowboys had brought in Sammy Watkins and made him a lucrative offer that would have paid him around $16 million per year, but as Patrik Walker from 247 Sports discussed, he ultimately signed with the Kansas City Chiefs for more guaranteed money.
I recall first the feeling of dread when I heard about the pursuit of Sammy Watkins, immediately followed by relief when I saw that he signed with the Chiefs. I was in the midst of a government mandated internet blackout.
Don't get me wrong, Sammy Watkins is a fine player, but he isn't a $16 million per year player. Aside from his athleticism and size he doesn't really bring much to the table. He was pretty much a younger, and similarly injury prone -- at their respective points in their careers -- as Dez Bryant.
In 2018, Watkins only played in 10 games for the Chiefs and barely passed the 500 yard mark while catching only three touchdowns. Now, he's not the top priority in the Chiefs passing game, but he's not a player that can be relied upon to lead an offense.
Had the Cowboys signed Watkins last offseason, it's highly unlikely that they would have traded a 2019 first round draft pick to add another wide receiver in Amari Cooper.
Dez Bryant Goes Bye-Bye
The next thing that happened that may not have, was the release of long-time Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver Dez Bryant. Dez Bryant had been with the team since 2010, when the team made him their first round pick that season. After post really good numbers from 2012-2014, Dez had a drop off in production, mostly due to injuries in the 2015-2017 seasons.
Dez Bryant, a fan favorite, was a player that relied upon his superior athletic ability, physicality, toughness, and ability to get passes in the air that made him special. Injuries to his legs and feet started to rob him of his athletic ability. Combine that with the fact that he and Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott could never really get on the same page when it came to fade routes, traditional or of the back shoulder variety.
Had the Cowboys not made the decision to move on from Bryant, the Cowboys offense would have probably been better the first seven games of the season. They may not have necessitated allocating a first round pick to acquire Cooper and it's possible he gets traded somewhere else or stays in Oakland altogether.
Poor Starts to the Season
The Oakland Raiders went into the 2018 season having made a lot of noise by signing Jon Gruden out of the broadcast booth and trading Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. After a 1-5 start to their season, the fire sale continued as they put Amari Cooper on the trade block.
The Dallas Cowboys started the season 3-4, but looked much worse on offense than what we could have anticipated. We knew they would take a bit of a step back in the passing game as they were trying to work in new faces, but it was bad for the first seven, and really eight weeks of the season.
The Cowboys went into the season with a plan to use their wide receiver group as a committee to try and fill their needs with several players of varying skill sets. Sounds good in theory, but in practice it was a debacle. Receivers not named Cole Beasley, struggled to get open and the offense was listless through the first two months of the season.
Had either team been better than they were to start the season, the chance of a trade taking place would have been small. Teams like to think they can get by with what they have. Had the Cowboys been 4-3 instead of 3-4, they may have thought they could get by with Allen Hurns, Cole Beasley, and Michael Gallup as their lead receivers.
Trade Compensation
It was rumored that prior to the Dallas Cowboys sending their 2019 first round pick to the Oakland Raiders that the Philadelphia Eagles offered a second. The Raiders, who were looking to stock pile picks to rebuild, held out for the first they desired for their former 2x Pro Bowler.
Had the Raiders took the Eagles offer as the best offer on the table at the time, the Cowboys would have missed out on Cooper and likely missed out on the division and the playoffs in 2018. On the flip side, we know how much the Cowboys value their draft picks. We've seen them pass on game changing player who would have cost much less because they value their draft picks and believe in their ability to find difference makers in any round.
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The Dallas Cowboys were really fortunate to end up with Amari Cooper. If any of the above things goes differently, it's extremely unlikely that he's wearing a Cowboys uniform in 2018 at all. Now, coming off a 1,000 yard season -- in only 15 games -- and a Pro Bowl appearance, Cooper is set to get paid some big money by the Dallas Cowboys front office. As they get ready to pay Cooper upwards of $16 million a year or more, they should have only one thought on their mind for the good fortune that brought Cooper to Dallas;
Thankfulness.
Chuck Wright
April 28, 2018 at 6:14 pm
Ward doesn’t fit a need in Dallas. He’s a 3/DE not a 1. dallas needs a 1. coulda had Poona Ford, high motor highly productive college guy. Biggest hole on the Dallas D? running up the middle.
Ward is a bust, he was weak in 2016, sat out 2017 with a broken foot. Position flex hurting the team
Randy Martin
April 28, 2018 at 7:17 pm
I get that something had to give with all the receivers we have now and while I’m not opposed to this trade, it kinda makes me wonder where we went wring with Switzer. They seemed pretty high on him when he was drafted but it did seem like he could really never break in last year other than as a return me. Is this a case of him just being odd man out? Is it case of being unable to learn the playbook? Was it his flippant remark when he made that key fumble in a loss where he said “not the first time and won’t be the last? It looks like it just comes back to Dallas making a poor pick or is it just a matter of them wanting Ward and Switzer just being what they wanted in return. I feel like there is more to know here. All that aside, I liked Ward coming out. He was a 3rd round prospect on Brugler’s board. I don’t think Gruden sees him as a fit but I know Marinelli liked him when we coached the Senior Bowl. He’s still young and I’m anxious to see how he might fit.
David Parkes
April 28, 2018 at 8:02 pm
They Should have traded someone else. Switzer brings a return game to good to let go of.
Russ_Te
April 29, 2018 at 12:19 am
WR unit needs more speed, Dallas gets rid of both WR’s who had it…
Doesn’t replace them with anybody fast, except Austin if he still has it (4.3, 2013 Combine / Austin may play at RB mostly). Although I like the Gallup pick. Ward had better be able to give something, because the Raiders got a good player out of it.
Travis Diggs
April 29, 2018 at 9:51 am
While it may been a little head scratching I get why they did it. Switzer is the poor man’s cole beasley, o by the way who we still have on the roster. Tavon Austin and Cedrick Wilson made Switz expendable, them two together upgrade the special teams way more than Switzer does
EverybodyTalks
April 29, 2018 at 6:12 pm
I heard this trade offer came from Oakland. I believe it was Bisaccia. Rich really liked Switzer when he was in Dallas. It fills a slot receiver need for Oakland. In return, we get a 3rd round DT from a couple of years ago for our 4th round pick last year. Interesting way to end up with a DT1/3. The Dallas defense doesn’t put a high priority on DT1. It is that simple. In fact, the only reason they had interest in Vita and DaRon was because they both showed DT3 potential.