The NFL news and rumor stove always gets HOT around the time teams need to cut players and trim their roster to 53. But the Las Vegas Raiders are especially spicy right now in the wide receiver room. Jakobi Meyers and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, announced this morning that they were requesting a new deal or a trade. The announcement felt out of the blue, but as it turns out, there was additional motivation behind that - per Ian Rapaport, wide receiver Amari Cooper has just signed a one-year deal with the Raiders.

This not only has an impact on Amari Cooper and Geno Smith, but it could trickle down to all of the potential fantasy football options on the Las Vegas Raiders. First, let’s take a look at Amari’s history with the team, his career, his production, and his injury history. Then let’s discuss the possible impact on guys like Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty, Jakobi Meyers, Dont’e Thornton, and Tre Tucker. 

 

 

 

Amari Cooper Team History

Amari Cooper might not be familiar with Las Vegas, but he is familiar with the Raiders organization. He was drafted by them back in 2015 when they were based out of Oakland. He put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to start his career, including two Pro Bowl nods. Injuries then derailed his career a bi and contract talks stalled.

Midway through his fourth year, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, where he also played three and a half years. He spent two and a half years in Cleveland before being dealt to the Buffalo Bills, where he only appeared in eight games last year. 

 

 

 

Amari Cooper Production and Injury History

The story for Amari Cooper has been pretty much the same wherever he has gone. He’s a great player - when healthy. But health issues often creep into the picture, making him unavailable for various stretches.

On his resume, he has seven different seasons compiling over 1,000 yards receiving. His list of injuries is extensive, including injuries to his toe, foot, ankle, knee, quad, chest, hamstring, head, wrist, and groin. If you check his injury history chart on DraftSharks.com, it’s hard to find a single season where he wasn’t dealing with some sort of ailment. Last year, his season was derailed by a wrist issue but even then, his 17-game pace would have been for over 100 targets. 

 

 

 

Amari Cooper’s Role Alongside Jakobi Meyers, Dont’e Thornton, Tre Tucker, Brock Bowers, and Ashton Jeanty

The timing of everything here could not be more interesting. Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty were already being drafted in the second round of fantasy football drafts - sometimes even the first. Jakobi Meyers was being drafted as a reliable WR3. And the drum beat was growing for Dont’e Thornton, who has been playing with the starters.

If Jakobi Meyers is truly looking to hold out or even be traded, we can likely expect Amari Cooper to slot into his role. If Meyers remains with the team, this is where there’s a bit of a curveball. Many were expecting Dont’e Thornton to be the starting split end. Amari Cooper would likely take over that role, pushing Thornton over to a flanker role. Given the number of two tight end sets this team runs with Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers, one of these wide receivers would then be a part-time player.

My expectations are that, assuming Amari Cooper’s wrist is healthy, he’ll be the split end. Jakobi Meyers will likely play slot for three WR sets and then move out wide to flaker for two WR sets. That would make the rookie Thornton a guy who plays in three WR sets but comes off the field for two WR sets. That’s still a pretty big role for a Day 3 rookie, but it would cap his upside.

In general, for fantasy football, this likely has me still interested in guys like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers. It certainly doesn’t hurt Geno Smith if you were interested there. It might make things a little too crowded for the wide receivers, so we’ll have to see where their ADP ends up - and if Jakobi Meyers is even willing to play for the Raiders this year. As of right now, I’m likely staying away from all of them. 
 

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