Stat of the Jay: Amari Cooper Leads the League in Dropped Passes Since 2021, But a Bengals Receiver Ranks Second

Jay Morrison | Oct 16, 2024

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) misses the ball against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – If you’re wondering why one of the worst offenses in the NFL would trade one of their best players, Amari Cooper’s repeated dropped passes certainly factored in the equation for the Cleveland Browns, who sent him to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick.

Cooper leads the league with 10 dropped passes this year, which is more than twice as many as anyone else, per SportRadar.

Of course, drops are a volume stat, and Cooper gets a lot of targets. But Cooper still ranks second in the league with a 29.4-percent drop rate among players with at least 20 targets.

The Green Bay Packers’ Dontayvion Wicks has the highest drop percentage at 31.3.

And Cooper didn’t just come down with a case of the drops. He was tied for 11th last year with seven, ranked second in 2022, his first year in Cleveland, with 12.

So naturally I started looking to see who has the most drops in the league over certain spans.

From 2022-present, Cooper is far and away the leader with 29. Tyreek Hill is a distance second with 21.

From 2021-present, the race is much closer. Cooper has the most drops with 32, but there is a surprising name in second place – Ja’Marr Chase.

Chase has 29 drops in his career, but 22 of them came in his first two seasons. He only had five last year and has just two this season.

Like Cooper, Chase receives a large quantity of targets.

Among players with at least 200 targets since 2021, Chase ranks 10th in drop percentage (8.8).

Tee Higgins is right behind him in 14th with an 8.5 drop percentage (20 drops).

Since the start of 2023, Chase and Higgins each have seven drops, which is much further down the list in 28th place.

Since entering the league in 2015, Cooper has 76 drops. Travis Kelce is second in that time span with 66.

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