Henry McKenna
NFL reporter
Everyone eats.
This is the mantra adopted by the Buffalo Bills. And it is true for Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, James Cook, Ray Davis, Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and even Ty Johnson.
Who am I forgetting?
Oh, proper: Amari Cooper.
Have you already eaten?
He has 136 receiving yards and a landing in his first 4 video games with the Bills. If everybody eats, it feels a bit just like the youngest little one: getting kicked out till there’s nothing left. The 30-year-old wideout is a longtime veteran, which is why Buffalo acquired him from Cleveland in mid-October. Since becoming a member of the workforce, he has been hampered by a wrist harm, so he hasn’t spent a lot time on the court docket with Allen. Cooper spent weeks as a restricted participant in observe, missed Weeks 9 and 10, returned final week and can play Sunday towards the Rams.
If you are in search of indicators that he and Allen are turning a nook, you may’t actually discover them on the stat sheet. Cooper had three targets for 3 receptions and 12 yards towards the 49ers in Week 13. But that is hardly look, given the heavy snow in Buffalo that evening.
Maybe there was a catch that gave us a glimmer of chemistry: a throw that confirmed an unstated connection between the 2 gamers: the landing move. Speaking of statistics, this one did not get to Cooper. But he threw it.
Near the top zone, Allen threw a ball behind Cooper, who hauled within the move with one hand. But the moment the 49ers stopped Cooper’s run, Allen was there ready for the ball. Cooper threw it and Allen bought the ball into the top zone.
It was an improvised hook and ladder.
“It must be up there (with my favourite touchdowns),” Allen stated after the sport, sitting on the rostrum subsequent to Cooper. “I want he bought credit score for one thing there: an help or a passing landing. … We made eye contact and he simply threw it and I needed to make a play.”
“I believed he was there as a result of he needed the ball, so I gave it to him,” Cooper stated.
Their postgame press convention, which adopted Buffalo’s 35-10 win over the 49ers, was all smiles and giggles. They had a simple relationship.
“It’s at all times enjoyable to win,” Cooper stated of his time in Buffalo. “It’s at all times good to be a part of a close-knit group, guys who love one another and spend lots of time collectively. I’m simply pleased to be part of it… I’ve performed on lots of groups, some good groups, some unhealthy groups. This is certainly a scary workforce .”
All is effectively in Buffalo. The Bills are certainly one of two groups to have clinched a playoff spot and, by the best way, they’ve already crushed the opposite playoff-bound workforce, the Kansas City Chiefs.
No one cares that Cooper is not dramatically growing his manufacturing or snaps, as a result of that is not how this offense works. The payments assault by any means essential. And because it occurs, in Cooper’s quick tenure, the working recreation has taken on better significance: The workforce rushed 34 instances towards Seattle in Week 8 and 38 instances towards the 49ers final weekend.
It’s reasonable that Cooper won’t ever sniff the 83.3 receiving yards per recreation he had with the Browns in 2023.
And then AND reasonable for Cooper?
We’ve seen high-profile wideout craters being produced after a midseason commerce. Watch Chase Claypool after the Steelers traded him to the Bears in 2023; Mohamed Sanu after the Falcons traded him to the Patriots in 2019; Golden Tate after the Lions traded him to the Eagles in 2018; Randy Moss after the Patriots traded him to the Vikings in 2010; and Roy Williams after the Cowboys traded him to the Lions in 2008.
With the Browns in 2024 (and – vital context – with Deshaun Watson, the league’s worst beginning quarterback), Cooper wasn’t as much as his typical efficiency or manufacturing. He had simply 250 yards and two touchdowns on 24 receptions. For years, Cooper was a WR1. When the Bills handed on him with solely 11 video games left within the common season schedule, they should have seen him as a participant who may change the offense. Otherwise, they would not have traded the third-round decide for Cooper and a sixth. That’s a cheaper price than the Jets paid for Davante Adams, who opted for a third-round decide (which may turn out to be a second if Adams is a first- or second-team All Pro). Cooper paid a better value than the Chiefs paid for DeAndre Hopkins (a fifth that turns into a fourth with a Super Bowl win).
When Cooper arrived in Buffalo, coaches labored to reduce expectations. Now we will see why. Maybe their plan wasn’t to feed him, however merely to introduce him as one other weapon in an offensive filled with them.
With the Bills, Cooper is averaging 2.1 yards of separation per goal and his receiving EPA is stable at 3.6. He even has 47 extra receiving yards than anticipated. His catch fee (76.9%) is definitely 19.6% larger than anticipated, in keeping with Next Gen Stats. There is nothing mistaken with what Cooper is doing. It’s doable that whereas everybody else is consuming, his time hasn’t come but, not since his debut when he scored a landing with 66 yards receiving. The solely actual situation may be his snap depend, which has him at WR3 and WR4 within the video games he is performed.
Is this the 12 months the Bills win the Super Bowl?
Maybe there’s a mixture of the reason why Cooper hasn’t been elite for any of his groups in 2024. His age, for starters. But in Cleveland, we give credit score to the dearth of transient manufacturing. In Buffalo, we credit score “everybody eats,” a wrist harm and difficulties studying the playbook halfway by way of the season.
But here is the excellent news for the Bills and Cooper. They’re profitable with out 100-yard video games from him, and profitable appears to be what issues for Cooper. There’s no drama past that, and even when they lose a couple of video games, the Bills will not anticipate any drama. And there was a sure former Bills government for whom this wasn’t a given.
Maybe Cooper will come alongside and assist the Bills win a Super Bowl. Maybe it is going to simply be one of many weapons. That’s not an enormous concern as a result of the Bills seem poised to win a championship with Cooper doing precisely what he is been doing: patiently ready his flip to eat.
Before becoming a member of FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years protecting the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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