Bills Central

ESPN analyst says Bills are again a true AFC contender after Amari Cooper trade

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky believes that the Buffalo Bills have now joined the upper echelon of AFC teams after acquiring wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Kyle Silagyi

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The Buffalo Bills are no stranger to being listed among the top teams in the AFC.

It’s fitting territory for a team that boasts one of the NFL’s best players under center. Buffalo has qualified for the postseason in each of the last five years and has won its division in four consecutive seasons, winning five playoff games over the past four campaigns. Few question the team’s talent, but some felt as though the Bills fell down the conference hierarchy in the offseason given the departure of several key starters, namely perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

The lack of a marquee pass-catcher who has the ability to consistently separate has been a genuine concern for Buffalo all season, and it addressed this qualm on Tuesday afternoon by acquiring seven-time 1,000-yard wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns. With questions regarding its weapons corps now effectively eliminated thanks to the presence of a five-time Pro Bowler atop the depth chart, the Bills are again a bonafide contender in the AFC, a team that is not only on track to qualify for the postseason, but potentially make some noise when it gets there.

Related: Full list of Bills' selections in 2025 NFL Draft following Amari Cooper trade

This sentiment was echoed by ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky on a recent episode of NFL Live; the pundit feels as though Cooper not only adds a different element to the Buffalo offense, but again propels the Bills into the upper echelon of AFC clubs.

“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,” Orlovsky said. “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.”

Buffalo was a competitive team before its acquisition of Cooper, sitting atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record through six games. It only figures to improve as the former fourth-overall pick acclimates to the offense; having hit a bit of a lull in their schedule, the Bills will have their next opportunity to test their strength against a true conference contender when they host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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