The Cooper effect. How an unsatisfied Amari Cooper has improved the Cowboys offense

Amari Cooper has 14 catches for 169 yards and one touchdown in three games since coming to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick in a bye week trade from the Oakland Raiders.

He had three catches for just 36 yards, all in the third quarter in last Sunday’s 22-19 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

It goes without saying that Cooper is not satisfied with his numbers, especially against the Falcons when he got just five targets.

But while Cooper is frustrated, he is not mad. He said he plans on working harder to get open.

“I deal with it a couple different ways,” Cooper said. “Obviously, I was supposed to be targeted more. But the ball didn’t come my way based on things I did. So I looked at it like if I would’ve done this on this route, maybe I would’ve gotten open, gotten a target. So I look at it from that perspective. As far as me coming out with just three catches, I’m not mad about that. Especially when we win.”

If truth be told, the Cowboys are winning and the offense is suddenly buzzing again because of Cooper’s addition.

The Cowboys are 2-1, riding a two-game road winning streak since he came over from the Oakland Raiders.

He has made a difference for quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott as well as the team’s efficiency on third down.

Before the trade, the Cowboys were 29 of 91 (31.9%) on third down to rank 29th in NFL. After the trade, they have been 20 of 40 (50%), ranking 8th in NFL.

“It seems like he kind of was the missing piece, just because when he got here this offense started rolling,” Elliott said of Cooper. “It’s great having him. He’s a phenomenal player. He’s going to have a great future here.”

Cooper’s presence has had a huge impact on Elliott, who is coming off back-to-back games of 151 and 122 yards rushing against the Eagles and Falcons. The coverage of Cooper on the outside has loosened things up for Elliott on the ground.

“Definitely. I’d say so. We’ve talked about that for a couple weeks now,” Prescott said. The way teams are playing us and the way they’re playing Amari [Cooper] and adjusting their coverages has given us favorable boxes. The offensive line is doing a great job of taking advantage of that. [Ezekiel Elliott] Zeke’s finding holes and making people miss.”

Vice president Stephen Jones agrees.

“I think you’ve got to give some credit to Amari Cooper,” Jones said. “I think they’re aware of it. They know he’s out there. They’re having to back into him on double coverage quite a bit, and I just think that it’s certainly loosening up, the defenses that we’re seeing, in terms of the number of players in the box, those type of things.”

His team-high seven catches for 79 yards against the Falcons, giving him 201 yards of total offense, can also be attributed to Cooper’s presence on the outside. The check downs to Elliott has created manageable third downs.

“We’ve seen some big, big plays on short check downs, on screens, on things of that nature to Zeke,” Jones said. “He’s making some big yardage and some big plays on those type of things. At the end of the day when you have a player with the explosiveness and the respect people have for Amari Cooper, I think you have to give him some credit.”

The impact on Prescott has been even greater.

His completion percentage before Cooper’s arrival was 62.1. It has been 69.7 since.

His quarterback rating was 87.4 before and is 96.4 after.

He averaged 202.4 passing yards per game before and is at 240.3 after.

His yards per attempt has gone up from 6.9 to 7.3.

And of course, the Cowboys have a 2-1 record.

Prescott said Cooper has him playing with more confidence because they now have a consistent rotation at receiver and a player on the outside they can rely on and other teams have to account for. Cooper, Cole Beasley, and rookie Michael Gallup get the bulk of the reps at receiver now.

“We felt fortunate we could bring Amari to our team,” coach Jason Garrett said of the Cooper effect. “He is a really good football player. He has worked very hard to get himself acclimated quickly to what we are doing. And a real tribute to him and a tribute to the coaches to help him get there.”

What the Cowboys are most excited about is that there is still room for improvement. He and Prescott have yet to connect on the deep ball and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan is still trying to come up with more creative ways to get him the ball.

It’s why the Cowboys gave up a lot for him and plan to reward him with a long-term extension.

“I think Scott has done a great job with him,” said Jones. “He’s just come into the building, so I think it’s a work in progress. But I do think when you have receivers like these type of players, you’ve got to continue to work to get them the ball. That’s why we gave up a number one pick for him and certainly why we are ultimately, he’s 24 years old, have a big contract coming his way.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2018 at 10:37 AM.