It's pretty hard to make any conclusions based on a week of bye week practices. In fact, I'd say it's just about impossible. But that will never stop Cowboys owner Jerry Jones from getting his two cents in about a player they traded a first round pick for.
Newest Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper has been “as advertised” according to Jerry Jones, who raved about the wide out earlier this week in an interview with 105.3 The Fan. Jerry then noted that he's most impressed with Cooper's work ethic and how he's gone about each day at practice thus far.
Amari Cooper opened his NFL career with two incredibly impressive seasons. Cooper went for over 1,000 yards during both his rookie and sophomore campaigns, going for about 14 and 15 yards per catch in each respective season. Since then his production has dropped off significantly, as he comes to the Cowboys with just 22 catches for 280 yards and a touchdown in 2018.
Of course a lot of that can be blamed on factors Cooper has no control over, such as Derek Carr's regression, coaching changes, and the downfall of the once great Raiders offensive line. But there is also no doubt that Amari Cooper has struggled with drops since he got into the league, and has been noted to have inconsistent hands since his rookie season.
The key reason the Cowboys felt Amari Cooper was the right fit, however, was his route running ability. Cooper creates easy separation from defenders and can provide Dak Prescott with quick windows to throw the ball to.
Prescott has been rather gun-shy at times, and can be risk averse to a fault in my opinion. Sure that comes with low turnover totals, but it also comes with a lack of big plays through the air. It's a big of a dilemma for any quarterback, but Prescott is a bit too risk averse at times. Having a receiver like Cooper should go a long way to creating bigger plays down the field, where Prescott doesn't feel he is “forcing” it.
Of course, this is me using a somewhat rosy outlook on the prospects of a Prescott/Cooper connection. But there is no doubt that a receiving corps of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Cole Beasley is an instantly better unit than Dallas trotted onto the field the first 7 games of the season.
