Amari Cooper trade to Cowboys is actually pretty good for Raiders

Color me surprised. After the trades the Raiders have made this offseason, I didn’t expect much from their trades. For them to be able to get a first round pick for Amari Cooper is pretty impressive. From the outset it would appear to actually work in the Raiders’ favor.

We’re past the point of worrying about trading away good players to win now in favor of future considerations. That passed before the season began when they sent Khalil Mack and a second round pick to Chicago for two first round picks.

Since then the Raiders have gone from looking kinda competitive at times to downright hopeless, leaving them with a 1-5 record. Now the tank is on and the most this team has to look forward to is their three 2019 first round draft picks.

Coop wasn’t exactly lighting it up in those six games. Sure, he had two games over 100 yards. One of those he needed overtime to do it against a Browns’ defense that had lost two of their top three corners during the game.

The former Alabama star started his career with two 1000-yard seasons and two Pro Bowls. He just couldn’t keep up his strong play over an entire season, fading down the stretch. And in his third season, he was banged up entering the season and never got on track.

As a fourth overall pick, he was ultimately a disappointment. He lacked the aggression needed to be a true number one receiver and thus was consistently inconsistent.

This season alone, outside of those two 100-yard plus games, he disappeared almost entirely. To get a first round pick for his level of production is solid return.

Right now the Cowboys are sitting at 3-4 on the season, coming off a 20-17 loss to division rival Washington. They’re hoping Coop will be the missing piece to their offense. If he’s not, and they continue to hover around .500, they would likely miss the playoffs, making the return a mid-round pick.

To take an underwhelming player you drafted in the top five and get a pick 10-15 spots lower four years later is not too shabby. Especially when you consider Coop will have just one more year left on his rookie contract after this season.

Let’s be honest; Coop never developed into the player the Raiders drafted him to be. He was rarely a gamebreaker and averaged a mediocre six touchdowns per season. They got good return for that.

That is, of course, providing we don’t soon hear they also threw in a second round pick.