Cooper should take Bills offence to new levels

Orchard Park, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane was assistant GM of the Carolina Panthers in the spring of 2015 when he went to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to meet with a highly rated receiver prospect for that year’s draft.

Amari Cooper had just wrapped his third season with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, putting up 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, which had him projected to be among the top players selected. 

“[Cooper] was talking to us like a coach,” Beane recalled on Wednesday, reflecting on a visit he made with then-Panthers receivers coach Ricky Proehl. “We sat there over an hour...watching them talk ball was cool for me to see. I was like, ‘Man, I'm sold.’ We just didn't have the fourth pick in the draft that year."

But the NFL is a small world, where paths tend to cross more than once. 

And so, 691 regular-season receptions and nearly 10,000 receiving yards later, Cooper found himself driving from Cleveland to Buffalo on Tuesday night, just hours after Beane acquired him in a trade with the Browns that also included an exchange of draft picks. 

Cooper, 30, arrives as the most accomplished and experienced receiver on Buffalo's roster, joining a unit that's been under scrutiny ever since the Bills jettisoned former No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade to Houston in April. 

That move, which cost the team $31.1 million under the salary cap, meant any veteran receiver the Bills might try to add during the season would have to be done on a tight budget.

With Cooper having taken most of this season's salary up front from the Browns in the form a bonus, the Bills were able to take on his prorated amount for the rest of the year at just over $800,000. 

Beane made it clear there had been conversations with the Las Vegas Raiders about unhappy receiver Davante Adams, but by Monday he had decided to make Cooper the single focus of his efforts.

The New York Jets would acquire Adams and the weight of his salary, which includes a prorated amount of $11.6 million for this season, plus the next two seasons at more than $30 million apiece.

Those numbers would have been difficult to swallow in Buffalo, where adding Adams would have meant mortgaging some of the future. 

Cooper, meanwhile, has an expiring contract, which means he'll only be back if the Bills want him. But this is a deal that is all about this season and with good reason.

The Bills offence has shown the ability to run the ball effectively during the first six games, and there have been aspects of the "everyone eats" offence, based on sharing the ball among their receivers, tight ends and running backs, that have been tough to defend. 

What the Bills haven't demonstrated is the ability to throw the ball deep – especially when opposing teams know they must do so. 

Buffalo's two most reliable targets, receiver Khalil Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid, are both players who do their best work in the middle of the field. 

With Cooper, Buffalo is adding legitimate outside threat who can win vertical routes down the field in a way the offence has been lacking. 

At age 30, Cooper may not be the player he once was in teams of explosiveness. But he's coming off a 2023 season in which he set career highs in yards receiving (1,250) and yards per catch (17.4). 

Cooper’s numbers have been down this season but that can be attributed to the putrid offence of the 1-5 Browns, who are among the few teams in the NFL already in sell mode. 

No wonder Cooper said Wednesday that he felt invigorated coming to play with Bills star quarterback Josh Allen. 

Beane conceded that receivers are among the hardest positions to on-board in mid-season, given the very specific assignments and terminology used by each team. But by getting the deal done well before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, there's plenty of time for Cooper to get up to speed for when the Bills will need him most. 

The fact that Buffalo receivers coach Adam Henry enjoys a good relationship with Cooper from two seasons together in Dallas should only help that process. 

The Bills went into this season knowing their receiving group was a work in progress to a degree unlike any time since Allen ascended to the elite players at his position. 

So far, Allen has mostly bought into the team's offensive philosophy. He’s throwing for fewer yards on shorter throws, while relying on the run game and protecting the football.

Combing those elements with the presence of a proven No. 1 receiver should take the offence to new levels and change expectations in Buffalo this season.

It took almost a decade, but Beane got his man.