Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper is only 27 years old.
That’s difficult to fathom given how much he has accomplished personally in his six-year career.
Certainly, he would trade those individual statistics for a Super Bowl championship.
His work ethic and love of the game have propelled him to greatness already.
Cooper has talked about what motivates him:
“I just want to get better and I love football. It’s like the greatest thing to me, its kind of like art to me, it’s like a painter drawing something. And that’s how I feel every time I run a route. I mean, I would come out and run routes even if I wasn’t getting paid because I just love it so much.”
Cooper is not overrated.
Here are three reasons why he is not.
3. Statistics
Dak Prescott to Amari Cooper oh boy!
Who else can’t wait for this combo to get back on the field!?! #CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/w8nczEVfKe
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) June 29, 2021
Cooper was named to the Pro Bowl four out of his six seasons in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
He has over 1,000 yards receiving in five of his six seasons.
Cooper even managed to wrack up 1,000 yards while being traded midseason from Oakland to Dallas in 2018.
Six games into the 2018 season, Cooper left Oakland and the AFC for Dallas and the NFC East competition.
He never missed a beat and was a key contributor to the Cowboys successes during the nine games he was with the team.
After joining the Cowboys, Jerry Jones talked about what made Cooper great.
“He’s been as advertised with his conscientiousness, how he approaches his work ethic. And, of course, he has unique skills…He’ll definitely change the dynamics of the offense. There’s no question about it.”
Amari Cooper at home since 2019
16 games
96 receptions
1515 yards
8 TDsAmari Cooper on the road since 2019
16 games
75 receptions
788 yards
5 TDs pic.twitter.com/g7x3MwHU6D— All Sports Culture (@ASCSportsMedia) June 28, 2021
2. Carried The Load On Less Than Stellar Teams
Cooper’s statistics are impressive on their own merits.
They are even more admirable because neither Oakland nor Dallas has been terribly competitive.
Cooper’s work was instrumental in lifting the Cowboys to the playoffs in 2018 when they beat Seattle.
Mostly, Cooper has been the best wide receiver on each team he played with.
The gap in skills between his WR1 abilities and the team’s WR2 was considerable.
That meant he drew the double coverage and the best defenders from the opponent’s team.
He needed to be the playmaker because the fate of the team’s passing game was up to him.
Ever since he entered the league, he has been called a great one.
His first quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr, talked about Cooper during his rookie season.
“He’s amazing, he’s awesome and he’s one of the best in this league. Obviously because he’s a rookie and hasn’t done it for a certain amount of time people won’t say that but he’s one of the best.”
1. Stays Healthy
Another reason Cooper is so consistent is because he stays healthy which is not an easy task.
Just look at the injury issues that have plagued Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as a comparison.
In six years, he has played in 93 career games and started in 87 of them.
Assuming Dak Prescott is fully recovered and the Cowboys offense starts humming with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard running the ball, Cooper should get the chance to make big contributions in 2021.
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