Anticipation and expectations are through the roof for the Cowboys wide receiving corps as the 2020 season begins. Jerry Jones has called the triumvirate of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb the most talented threesome of pass-catchers the club has ever had under his tenure as team owner.
But as quarterback Dak Prescott looks to build on career-best numbers in 2019 and Cowboys fans dream of Team Fortyburger shorting out scoreboards for the next 17 weeks (and hopefully longer), the understated WR1 of the bunch kept things matter-of-fact, as always.
“I like what we’re doing on offense,” Cooper said plainly on Thursday.
The four-time Pro Bowler may have been reluctant to compare this season’s offense to last season’s iteration, but one thing Cooper hopes is different is his health. The Alabama alum played through something last year. Though he made it on the field in all 16 games and racked up over 1,100 yards, Cooper had all kinds of lower body ailments listed next to his name at various points in 2019: heel bruise, plantar fasciitis, twisted ankle, thigh bruise.
It was clear to nearly everyone that there were times when Cooper was less than 100%. So it was with no small amount of breath-holding that fans learned Cooper had been held out of most team work over the past two weeks, working with trainers and using resistance bands on the sideline.
But the former Raider says he’ll be ready come Sunday’s season opener in Los Angeles.
“I feel good,” Cooper said after Thursday’s practice, per the team website. “I’ve been able to become a full participant the last couple of practices and I’ve been able to do everything, so I feel really good going into the game.”
He says this latest hamstring issue comes with the job description.
“It’s not frustrating at all; it’s football,” the 26-year-old said. “When you’ve been playing football as long as I have, you realize that it’s all a part of the game. It’s not about not getting hurt or not getting nicked. It’s about how you deal with them, come back from them, or play through it.”
In Week 1, Cooper’s hamstring (both of them, actually) will be tested against Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The three-time Pro Bowler is fresh off signing a five-year contract extension worth $105 million, the largest ever at the position.
Cooper says he’s looking forward to making Ramsey earn his paycheck on Sunday night.
“It’s always exciting to go against a top corner or one considered to be one of the best in the league. I think he’s a real good player. He has all the intangible assets that you would want in a cornerback: fast, long, can cover, has good ball skills. It’s always a challenge, but exciting at the same time.”
Cooper has a newly-signed contract of his own. He and the Cowboys agreed on a five-year deal in March, but he says he doesn’t feel any added pressure now that he’s a $100 million man.
“I just go out there and play my game,” Cooper explained. “The reason that I feel that I was extended was because I’ve just been playing the way that Amari Cooper plays. So if that was the reason I was extended, then it’s nothing for me to just go out there and continue playing the way that I play.
“I try to epitomize the wide receiver position, and I think, at it’s core, it’s just getting open, getting separation, making the throw easier for the quarterback. And that’s what I try to do with every route that I run. I try to create as much separation as I possibly can.”
Some of that separation, at least in practice, has been trickier than in years past. That’s because the team’s second-round draft pick, Trevon Diggs, has been honing his coverage skills against Cooper.
And Cooper has been impressed.
“He looks real good. Real impressive rookie, especially for a cornerback. I think that’s one of the hardest positions to transition to when you come from college to the NFL. As a cornerback in college, you can be a great player and not necessarily have all the tools needed to be a good NFL corner. But from what he’s been showing in practice, he made that transition look real easy, and he’s been a tough matchup for us at receiver.”
Cooper says the rookie DB clearly has some of the same pass-catching DNA as his brother Stefon, wide receiver for the Bills.
“I think a lot of times when a cornerback has some type of ball skills, they just don’t inherit those ball skills. You practice with the ball a lot, and that usually comes from playing offense. I can tell you he’s played some receiver growing up, and I think it does help him, because he’s able to recognize routes, and he’s able to feel like when somebody is going to break in and somebody is going to break out, because he’s played the position. It’s going to help him a lot, it really is.”
Cooper may be forecasting big things for Diggs, but when asked about the prognosis of the Cooper/Gallup/Lamb triple threat, he kept any predictions to himself.
“I think we have a lot of potential. The stuff we’ve been putting on tape in practice is impressive. Just excited about actually going out and putting it on tape in games and seeing that potential come to life.”
Just last month, Cooper talked about the potential for all three receivers to top 1,000 yards in 2020.
For the team’s resident chess champ, Sunday will mark the first moves toward that endgame.
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