Amari Cooper Trade Makes Bills a Contender: Bama in the NFL, Week 7 Tracker

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Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) celebrates after scoring on the Browns' first drive against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Did everything just change in the AFC this season? Maybe so.

If you're a diehard Alabama fan, you've seen this before. Amari Cooper was with a team that couldn't fully utilize him, and traded midseason to one with playoff aspirations. In this case, though, the wide receiver might be the key toward a Super Bowl run.

We're getting ahead of ourselves, of course, and no one should expect Cooper to suddenly start lighting up defenses now that he's on a better team. But Buffalo (4-2) was solid before before acquiring Cooper earlier this week, and does have a quarterback who could be in the running for NFL honors.

Josh Allen has 1,160 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns through six games this season, largely without a receiver who could really stretch the field. It was especially obvious during back-to-back losses at Baltimore and Houston, when a five-time Pro Bowl selection could have been the difference in the game. No one on the Bills has more than 249 receiving yards, or more than two touchdown catches.

Cooper, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has 9,736 career receiving yards and 62 touchdowns. The former Crimson Tide standout has notched six seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards, including each of the last two full seasons in Cleveland. However, with Deshaun Watson struggling he's had just 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns this season despite being targeted 53 times (completion rate of just 45.2 percent, down from 56 percent in 2023 when he had a career-best 1,250 receiving yards, and 59 percent in 2022).

Consequently, Buffalo sent a third-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round selection in 2026 to the Browns in exchange for Cooper and a sixth-round pick in 2025. Cooper, who will turn 31 on June 17, will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so that's why the price tag wasn't more.

“I think, again, it’s more, it is that [putting others in more suitable roles], to an extent, but that only happens if the pieces of the puzzle fit in appropriately, does that make sense?” head coach McDermott said per Bills On SI. “Everyone in that room, before Amari was here, had a slightly different skill set, so now it’s determining truly what Amari’s skill set is and how it’s going to fit into the room and how our system can also use Amari’s strengths to make our system better. 

“I’ve talked about that before, where it’s important that you identify the strengths of the player, and then you tailor the system to his strengths so that your system becomes even better. That’s some of the cadence that I was referring to, the rhythm of making sure that he’s onboarded the right way and we get rolling with the rhythm that we had coming out of the game from the other night. That’s part of the onboarding process.”

Here are the three things to know moving forward:

1. The Bills are hoping history repeats

Sep 30, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) prepares to catch a pass before the start of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Oakland Coliseum. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

As previously noted, this is the second time Cooper has been traded midway through a season. In 2018, he went from the Raiders to the Cowboys. Cooper had 674 receiving yards in seven regular season games with Dallas the rest of that season, an average of 96.3 yards per game. The Raiders went on to finish 4-12, while Cowboys made the playoffs at10-6. They beat the Seahawks in the wild-card round before bowing out to the Rams, who played in the Super Bowl (and lost to the Patriots).

2. There is some familiarity

Jul 24, 2021; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receivers coach Adam Henry during training camp at the Marriott Residence Inn. / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Allen and Cooper have obviously never played together on an NFL team, but Bills wide receiver coach Adam Henry was with Cooper in Dallas in 2020-21. During those seasons, Cooper led the Cowboys in receiving yards in 2020 (1,114) and was second on the team in 2021 (865). The Cowboys traded Cooper to the Browns on March 16, 2022, after Henry moved on. On SI reported that a factor in his departure was that due to focussing on family more after the loss of both his parents: "A most important aspect of this,'' said Henry, who had signed on to be the co-offensive coordinator at Indiana, "is how much I enjoyed my two years in Dallas. I loved the coaching staff and all of those guys we had in our receivers room.''

3. Rising Tide in Buffalo

East Rutherford, NJ -- October 14, 2024 -- Josh Allen of Buffalo throws a pass in the first half. The Buffalo Bills came to MetLife Stadium to play the NY Jets. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Not only does the Cooper trade add an important element to the offense, but it served notice to the whole team that the expectation is to make a playoff run. This should be one of those situations in which the overall play of the entire time could rise. As for the expectations outside of Buffalo, check out what Dan Orlovsky of ESPN said on NFL Live. “The top three teams, in my eyes, in the AFC are Kansas City, Houston, Baltimore—I have not had Buffalo in that group, I’ve had them just a tier below. They are now in that group with this addition. I just felt like it was those three teams, then Buffalo was a group below because I didn’t believe that they could win consistently versus man coverage. They’re in that top four now because of this. ... Not only do they have to beat man coverage, they had no ability to push the ball downfield. Like, legitimately. Josh could get outside the pocket and make some plays, but someone who you could just go, ‘Hey, we need you to win 15 yards down the field,’ Coop can still do that . . . If their offensive line is going to continue to dominate, this is a massive move.”

Finally, a key stat to keep an eye on is dropped passes. It's not an official statistic, so different services have varying numbers, but Cooper leads the league so far this season. In 2017, the second before the Raiders traded him, he led the league in the statistical category as well. It never seemed to be an issue with the Dallas Cowboys, where he had just three after the trade and never was crfeddited with more than five.

A Trio of Excellence

Having a former player named an NFL Player Play of the week is a big deal at any time. Having two during the same week is both impressive and rare. But three, which BamaCentral reported on Wednesday is nothing short of pretty amazing — especially when factoring that the Crimson Tide swept that defensive honors last week as well, with different players: Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney (NFC) and Denver cornerback Pat Surtain II (AFC)

Here's a better look at the three honorees:

Will Anderson Jr.

He recorded eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and one pass defensed in Houston’s win at New England. The three sacks topped the league. He's just fifth former Alabama defensive lineman to earn the honor, joining Marcell Dareus, Marty Lyons, Antwan Odom and Quinnen Williams.

Brian Branch

Branch recorded six tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble in Detroit’s win at Dallas. He became the first NFC player and fourth overall in the NFL this season with multiple interceptions in a game. It's the first time he's won the award.

Derrick Henry

Henry rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore’s Week 6 win over Washington. This marked Henry’s 20th career game with at least 100 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. It's the ninth time he's won the honor:
2018: Week 14 (Titans)
2019: Week 17 (Titans)
2020: Weeks 6, 17 (Titans)
2021: Weeks 2, 6 (Titans)
2022: Week 8 (Titans)
2024: Weeks 4, 6 (Ravens)
Overall, he leads the NFL with 704 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns and has recorded a rushing touchdown in each game.

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NFL Week 7 Tracker

For the full set of statistics on how the former Crimson Tide players did this week, check out our Bama in the NFL Week 7 Tracker. It will be updated throughout the weekend until every game is concluded.

Game of the Week

There are some key games this week including the Lions at Vikings, Chiefs at 49ers, and Ravens at Buccaneers, in addition to some popular rivalries. For Alabama fans, though, the Texans (5-1) at Packers (4-2) is the one to watch due to there being so many key players on both sides of the ball and the setting, Lambeau Field. Texas head coach DeMeco Ryans has Anderson, John Metchie III, Henry To'oTo'o (with Christian Harris injured and Irv Smith Jr. on the practice squad, while the Packers are led by newcomers Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney.

Matchup of the Week

The hype surrounding Davante Adams possibly making his Jets debut on Monday night, and playing again with Aaron Rodgers, will probably be on the extremely ridiculous side, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of game Minkah Fitzpatrick has for the Steelers. But butting heads all night long figure to be Jets defensive captain C.J. Mosley, will be back from a toe injury, doing everything he can to limited Najee Harris. After topping the 100-yard mark last week he's up to 11th in league rushing with 376 yards.

NFL Week 7 Notes

• The loss of defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, who is out for the rest of the season after suffering a pectoral tear against the Ravens, was a major setback for Washington as it aims to win the NFC East. "Jon Allen's obviously been the staple player here in his play style and the attitude," said Commanders coach Dan Quinn about the team's longest-tenured player. PerWashington Commanders On SI, he also noted that "Jon's rare and he's got unique skills and talent. So, it's not just plug and play."

• Henry’s eight rushing touchdowns are tied with Billy Kilmer for the second-most rushing touchdowns ever by a player in his first six games with a team. Eric Dickerson holds the record with 10 with the Los Angeles Rams. With two more rushing touchdowns, he will surpass Adrian Peterson (134 games) as the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 rushing touchdowns: LaDainian Tomlinson (93 games), Emmitt Smith (99), Jim Brown(113) and Shaun Alexander (119).

• With Cooper now in Buffalo, all eyes in Cleveland turn to Jerry Jeudy to be the go-to target moving forward. He was second behind his fellow former Crimson Tide standout statistically, 20 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown. “To be able to be in the locker room with him was a blessing because a lot of guys don’t get to play with their favorite wide receiver,” Jeudy told reporters in Cleveland. “So being able to play with him and just learn from him, I truly appreciate that and learned a lot from it.”

• While Anderson and Branch got defensive player of the week honors, which former Alabama player had the most tackles last week? Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey with nine.

NFL Week 7 Schedule

Thursday's Game

Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints, 7:15 p.m. (CT), Amazon Prime

Sunday's Games

New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars in London, 8:30 a.m., NFL Network
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons, noon Central, FOX
Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills, noon, CBS
Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers, noon, CBS
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts, noon, FOX
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings, noon, FOX
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, noon, FOX
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams, 3:05 p.m., CBS
Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders, 3:05 p.m., CBS
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams, 3:05, CBS
Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers, 3:25 p.m., CBS
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers, 7:20 p.m., NBC

Monday's Game

Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:15 p.m., ESPN
Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals, 7:45 p.m., ESPN+

Bye: Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys

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