In a case of interesting or, albeit, coincidental timing, on the heels of reports that Jakobi Meyers has asked to be traded, the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to a deal with veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper on Monday.
Cooper, of course, started his career with the Raiders, who were in Oakland then, after they took him fourth overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys during the 2018 season, and in more recent years, he has played for the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Cooper chose the Raiders among multiple teams that had interest in him, including the San Francisco 49ers. In a wide receiver room flush with youth outside of Meyers, Cooper has a place as an additional proven weapon for Geno Smith.
Fantasy football impact of Amari Cooper joining the Raiders
Cooper is coming off a down 2024 campaign, split between the Browns and the Bills, where he totaled 44 receptions for 547 yards and four touchdowns over 14 games. Perhaps he is on the decline, but he topped 1,100 yards in 2022 and 2023 with the Browns, so there is still optimism.
Of course, an easy tentacle of the Raiders adding Cooper is the fantasy football fallout. Now that he has signed with a team, he's somewhere on the radar as fantasy draft season winds down. How viable he will be is the question, though, and some numbers from last season point a certain direction.
New Raiders WR Amari Cooper 2024 #ReceptionPerception profile 👀
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) August 25, 2025
- 61% success rate vs. man
- 76.6.% success rate vs. zone
- 61.1% success rate vs. press
Definitely a decline from some really solid years in Cleveland
Full profile:https://t.co/AjuaAmEgRB pic.twitter.com/LWpxVMQ9jw
Amari Cooper last year posted lows in targets, catches, yards, TDs, YAC, yards per route ran (in NGS era - since 2016). It was his second lowest catch rate and EPA. Struggled to stand out on a WR needy Bills team
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) August 25, 2025
Think we have reached the point where he is just a contributor
Changing teams in the middle of a season is never ideal, but Cooper's days as a viable fantasy wide receiver might just be done. Based on these advanced fantasy football metrics, he can still be a productive piece of Las Vegas' offense, but fantasy owners may want to steer clear.
RELATED: Raiders just added another former Pete Carroll project after roster cuts
Raiders also have two legit target earners assuming Meyers sticks around.
— Raymond Summerlin (@RMSummerlin) August 25, 2025
I still don't think Cooper is draftable in a normal redraft format because of those reasons, but I am torn on how to project him.
Just updated my fantasy football rankings. I had Amari Cooper at WR106 just as a sort of placeholder.
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) August 25, 2025
But with official news on his signing, I’ve moved him all the way up to WR97.
Cooper is nothing more than a late-round flier as a fifth or sixth wide receiver in deep leagues that haven't drafted yet. But his potential fantasy impact grows when considering he could eat up a portion of the targets that originally may have gone to Meyers or Brock Bowers.
At least in theory, he's going to bump rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech down the depth chart, at least fantasy-wise. Any fantasy buzz around training camp standout Tre Tucker has also been squashed now.
Even 35-40 catches, 400-something yards and a handful of touchdowns would be just enough to make Cooper a noticeable production vulture from Meyers and Bowers, while also hurting Thornton, Bech and Tucker.
While this would potentially help the Raiders' offense overall, this level of production would make him a worthless fantasy asset. Cooper was a top-20 fantasy receiver just two years ago, but now he's just a name of note, and someone who fantasy managers have to be a little leery of.