Amari Cooper was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago and so far things have been lackluster. The deal included Cooper and a 2025 6th round pick heading to Buffalo for a 2025 3rd round pick and a 2026 7th round pick. When the deal was made the general consensus seemed to be that Cooper would be an instant difference maker. This in a way that has been true, just not how Buffalo fans probably expected. In the two games Cooper has played he has been targeted just 7 times and has totaled 5 catches for 59 yards. He does have a touchdown on the stat sheet but all and all Cooper has looked middling at best in his short time in Buffalo. This of course shouldn’t raise concern, Buffalo is a top 15 offense in the NFL and Quarterback Josh Allen is playing the best football of his career this season. Cooper and Allen will continue to develop chemistry as the season goes on and Cooper will begin to see more opportunities. Though his individual stats are not impressive, his presence makes a difference for the Bill’s offense.
In the two games the Bills have had Cooper they have scored 30-plus points, which is consistent with their other games this season. The big difference though is Josh Allen’s passing yards. Allen has thrown for over 600 yards in the past 2 games. That is over half Allen’s passing totals on the year prior to these past two weeks. While it is clear Cooper is not directly increasing those numbers, the attention he is drawing is helping to open up the Bill’s passing attack. Want evidence for this look no further than rookie receiver Keon Coleman. Coleman started out the season struggling to get open. He was arguably the teams number 1 receiver coming into the year, and quickly got pushed down to the 2 or 3 after Khalil Shakir showed out the first few weeks. From there Coleman could never seem to get going, getting limited opportunities and doing the best he could with them. The results were…meh. Then the Bills traded for Cooper. The initial thought of many fans and analysts was that Cooper would be taking up all the targets from Coleman, and the rest of the receiving room. This theory was quickly proven false as Coleman exploded for 125 yards against the Titans and then followed it up with a 5 reception 70 yard performance, capped off by a spectacular touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone. Khalil Shakir has also benefitted from the deal, getting himself 170 yards in the past two contests. The rejuvenated passing attack mixed with the seemingly now fully healthy James Cook makes this Bills unit extremely scary, and it can only go up from here as Cooper and Allen’s chemistry improves.
