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It is time to make the case for another player who is a mid-round target in startups that could potentially be a league winner. Amari Cooper has been on a roller coaster of a career, starting with being drafted fourth overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2015. Surprisingly, he did not make it through his rookie contract before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys just before the trade deadline in 2018.

Last off-season saw Cooper being traded again, this time to the Cleveland Browns. There are few players in the league who get traded so often that maintain the level of production that he has, which I will break down as I explain why Amari Cooper is someone you should be targeting in your dynasty leagues.

The Roller Coaster

Cooper’s record of being traded is not the only roller coaster that needs to be critiqued when looking at his career. To get right to it, Amari has only finished as a WR1 twice in the eight years he has been in the league. This has caused his value to drop somewhat over the years. However, it should be noted that he finished as a WR2 or better six times, which shows he has the potential to be a steady plug-and-play in your lineups. One of the two times he finished as a WR1 was last year, with Jacoby Brissett throwing to him for the majority of the season.

One of the reasons that Amari’s finishes have not been as consistent is because of the boom or bust that tends to come with him. For example, last season, he had seven weekly finishes of single-digit points earned. In contrast to this, in the other 10 games that Cooper played in, he averaged 20.31 points per game (PPG). That is enough to put him as WR3 for average PPG, according to Fantasy Pros.

Of course, you must take the bad with the good, as he averaged 14.5 PPG over the entirety of the season, but this is just to show how much boom he has! Cooper finished as WR10 this last season, and I expect him to pick up where he left off moving forward.

A Key to Brown’s Success

One of the reasons that Cooper was so productive this last season is because of the fact that he is such an integral part of the Browns’ offense. According to Player Profiler, he had the 16th-best target share in the league last season, coming in with a solid 26.1% target share. This could be seen with how he had double-digit targets in seven games last season and averaged 7.8 targets throughout. In other words, he is an integral part of their offense and shows how important it was for the Browns to trade for him last off-season.

Amari Cooper was a target hog, and this trend should continue moving forward while he is with the Browns. The receivers that were already on the team have underwhelmed so far, which is why Amari received the target share he did. The team did trade for Elijah Moore, but he has not done anything to prove he is a threat to Cooper’s targets moving forward.

They also drafted a wide receiver with their first pick, but that was not until the third round, and while Cedrick Tillman is an intriguing prospect, he should not be expected to step into a big role right away and will need time to develop. These investments feel more like finding complementary pieces than it does trying to find a replacement, which should mean that it will be Cooper’s all-you-can-eat buffet again this coming season.

Another aspect of this that needs to be touched on goes by the name of Deshaun Watson. He will be the quarterback for Cleveland Browns and will be the lynchpin for Amari Cooper’s success this coming season. Last season saw Watson sitting out a majority of it due to his suspension, and when he came back, he was rusty. He completed just 58% of the passes he attempted, and his struggles were reflected in Amari Cooper having the worst stretch of games he had all season.

Typically, this kind of trend would have me concerned about what is coming next. However, Watson did sit out for almost two full seasons before being thrown back into a league where the other teams were fully clicking by that point. Things were going to be difficult, and anyone expecting something otherwise misjudged that situation. Now he and Cooper will have an entire off-season to work together on building their chemistry, and I expect them to be a top duo this coming year.

What’s the Cost?

This is always the real question: what’s it going to cost to get Player X on my team? Well, with Amari, it’s relatively cheap compared to what he brings to the table. Cooper is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, as he just turned 29 in June. That said, though, I like to look at dynasty in increments of the three-year windows. Amari should have at least two more good years left in him, and for his asking price, I’m willing to take that gamble.

Looking at start-ups, Cooper is going towards the end of the seventh round with an average draft position (ADP) of 82, which feels just about right. This has him going as WR34, taken off the board behind players such as Treylon Burks and Brandon Aiyuk, both of which I would take after Amari. While those players might be younger, I prefer the upside that Cooper brings to the table over them with the target share he should see again this season.

Trading, of course, is always trickier. For a personal example, I traded De’Von Achane (which is basically a late 2023 first-round) for Cooper and a 2024 third-round pick. There have been other trades with him going for a future second-round pick. It all comes down to what the other owner is valuing him as and what the situation is for both parties.

Either way, it would be beneficial to throw out some feelers and see how your league mates are valuing Amari Cooper. Everything is pointing towards him having another big year, as he is probably in the best position he has ever been in since coming into the league. Looking at the offense, the quarterback play, and the lack of competition at the position, everything is trending in the right direction for Cooper.

Now is the time to get in on him before your league-mates see his value.