Amari Cooper trade adds pressure to quarterback Dak Prescott

The Dallas Cowboys passing offense is abysmal. Trading for Amari Cooper will prove if quarterback Dak Prescott is a quality craftsman with bad tools.

The Dallas Cowboys front office actually surrendered their first-round selection in the 2019 NFL draft for wide receiver Amari Cooper. Upon hearing about the trade, I went back to bed hoping that it was more rumor than fact. Making this trade completely destroys everything that the Cowboys have sold to members of their fan base.

History has proven that teams without a first-round pick are usually hindered for generations (maybe that’s a slight exaggeration). In the middle of the NCAA college football season, Dallas has  determined that Cooper is better than every college player and fills the Cowboys biggest need.

For years, fans have been told that this front office is building the team through the draft. The Cowboys declared that the habit of joining in bidding wars for prized free agents was over. Selecting the right kind of guys in each draft, especially the late draft gems and undrafted future Hall of Fame candidates like safety Jeff Heath leads to the franchise’s long-term success.

Is giving up a number one draft pick the opposite of building through the draft or nah? I don’t want to beat up Amari Cooper, but the favorite target of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was receiver Michael Crabtree.

2015 Oakland Raiders

• Crabtree – 146 targets, 85 receptions, 922 yards, 9 touchdowns.
• Cooper – 130 targets, 72 receptions, 1070 yards, 6 touchdowns.

2016 Oakland Raiders

• Crabtree – 145 targets, 89 receptions, 1003 yards, 8 touchdowns.
• Cooper – 132 targets, 83 receptions, 1153 yards, 5 touchdowns.

2017 Oakland Raiders

• Crabtree – 101 targets, 54 receptions, 618 yards, 8 touchdowns.
• Cooper – 96 targets, 48 receptions, 680 yards, 7 touchdowns.

Knowing Crabtree posted better numbers than Cooper was part of Fantasy Football Front Office 101. The Baltimore Ravens signed Crabtree to a three-year, $21 million dollar contract. That’s the NFL equivalent of a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich, two bags of salt and vinegar potato chips and a large tin of cinnamon Altoids.

Didn’t the Cowboys front office attempt to convince us that not having a number one receiver would help quarterback Dak Prescott? Getting rid of wide receiver Dez Bryant would make the Cowboys “Dak Friendly”.

Not having a superstar wide receiver was supposed to mean that Prescott could spread the ball around without feeling pressured to force the ball to the teams best receiver.

Prescott was supposed to be at his best when six players split his 19 pass completions per game for 215 yards for 1.36 touchdowns per game. I wish I was making these numbers up. Allow me to make things simple for the Dak-Riders among us.

• In 39 games, Prescott has 747 completions – an average of 19 per game.
• In 39 games, Prescott has 8,408 passing yards – an average of 215.6 yards per game.
• In 39 games, Prescott has 53 passing touchdowns – an average of 1.36 per game.

For the majority of his career, Prescott played with receivers Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley, running back Ezekiel Elliott, future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten and the great Jeff Heath was playing defense.

Those teammates are a dream scenario for any quarterback, but Wak Prescott is simply horrific as a quarterback.

After playing in one game last season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has 22 passing touchdowns – this season! In seven games, Mahomes is averaging 317.6 yards per game.

I don’t know who the next Mahomes will be, but it would be nice to have a first-round draft pick available in order to move up in the 2019 NFL draft. I don’t need the Cowboys to find the next Mahomes.

After watching film on Prescott, I want the Cowboys to have a quarterback that can determine if a defensive secondary is playing man to man, zone or a combination of man and zone.

• There’s only one reason the Cowboys are ranked 28th of 32 teams in passing.
• There’s only one reason the Cowboys have 1282 passing yards this season.
• There’s only one reason the Cowboys have 8 passing touchdowns this season.

The solution is simple and signing Amari Cooper wasn’t it. It’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to let Jeff Heath play quarterback too.

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