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Amari Cooper’s first season with the Dallas Cowboys is going to be a little over half of one, and he’ll be expected to do a whole lot in that time span.
Jerry Jones and Co. spent a first-round pick to acquire Cooper from the Oakland Raiders and you don’t do that unless you believe highly in the potential return. The Cowboys are on a bye this week and they’ll pick up back up on November 5th (Jason Witten’s return with Monday Night Football) against the Tennessee Titans... and the Amari show will be on.
What is the world expecting of Cooper this season?
The popular sports book Bovada has released a few over/under propositions for Amari Cooper’s shortened 2018 season with the Dallas Cowboys. Remember that we’re talking about nine games here and that the Cowboys have struggled in the passing game.
People say different things about the desert, and there’s always that moment where we wonder how they can be so precise with their calculations. Whatever you think of them here’s the neighborhood they think Amari Cooper is going to live in.
Amari Cooper Over/Unders for Weeks 9 through 17
Receiving Yards: 517.5
Receptions: 40.5
Touchdowns: 3
To reach these numbers Cooper would have to average 57.5 yards per game and 4.5 receptions per game. These definitely feel reachable for a receiver of Cooper’s perceived talents, but to be fair the Cowboys have struggled so mightily through the air that they felt the need to go get him.
The most curious number here is definitely the touchdown mark. Three touchdowns in nine games certainly seems doable but again, in the interest of fairness, the current Cowboys leaders in that category are Tavon Austin and Cole Beasley who each have two after seven games from the team.
Expectations are a funny thing and for most people they won’t be met in terms of giving up a first-round draft pick unless Cooper outperforms these numbers. What do you think, though? Will Amari Cooper beat them? Does it matter if he does?