Oakland Raiders: Desperate Cowboys Add Another Pick to Oakland’s Collection

The Oakland Raiders are hoarding draft picks, and a desperate Dallas Cowboys team threw another one their way in a trade for Amari Cooper.

The Oakland Raiders continued to stockpile draft picks on Monday, trading another former Pro Bowl that they drafted in recent years. This time, wide receiver Amari Cooper was sent out, going to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a first-round pick in next year’s draft.

Oakland had been shopping Cooper, the fourth-overall pick in 2015, and had gotten offers as high as a second-round pick from the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Raiders held out, though, waiting for a team that would give them just a bit more. Dallas was desperate enough to give them that little bit more.

The Cowboys, coming off another disheartening loss on the road on Sunday, fell to 3-4 on the season, in a tie for second place in the wide-open NFC East. Their passing offense has been ineffective all season, which has helped to negate the third-best rushing offense in the NFL. They rank 29th in passing yards per game, which leads to a total offense that also ranks 29th.

Cole Beasley is the Cowboys’ leader with 33 receptions and 350 yards after seven games, and they have gotten virtually no production from the rest of that group. The next closest wide receiver in receptions is Allen Hurns at 13, and rookie Michael Gallup is next with 190 yards. They’ve gotten more receiving production from running back Ezekiel Elliott and tight end Geoff Swaim than they have from other wideouts

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That lead to Dallas making a desperate trade to add a receiver who has a good track record, but hasn’t been so productive in the last couple years. Cooper was sensational in his first two seasons, grabbing 155 passes for 2,223 yards in his first 32 games, earning Pro Bowl nods in both seasons.

In 2017, however, he set career-lows with 48 catches and 680 yards despite setting a personal best with seven touchdowns. This year, he’s caught 22 passes for 280 yards in six games, scoring once. He entered the league’s concussion protocol in the Raiders’ week six game against the Seattle Seahawks, and it’s not yet known when he’ll be cleared. Dallas is entering their bye week, so he’ll have an extra week to recover.

Drops have always been an issue for Cooper. As a rookie in 2015, he lead the league with 18 dropped passes and a 20% drop rate, and led the league again with a 15.9% drop rate in 2017 while he finished tied for third with 10 drops. This year, he has two drops in 30 targets.

He’ll have to overcome those past issues if Dallas is going to get the type of production they’re hoping for from their new number one target. Dallas is not yet out of the race in their division, but they can’t continue to lose winnable games on the road like they have been. Cooper will be the new top target, but it’ll be on offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and quarterback Dak Prescott to get the ball to him, and let his tremendous after-the-catch ability shine through.

The Raiders, on the other hand, sit at 1-5 and have no playoff hopes for this year. By trading for Dallas’ first-round pick, that gives them three selections in the opening round next year. With their own pick, they will select at or near the very beginning of the first round next April.

They also have Dallas’ first-round pick, which at the current moment is ninth overall, and the Chicago Bears pick from the Khalil Mack trade just before the season. As things stand now, the Bears’ pick would come 15th overall. Of course, things will certainly change with those two picks over the next couple months.

In addition, Oakland has two first-rounders in 2020, giving them five picks in the next two first rounds. Draft picks won’t win them games this year, but they do appear to have something of a plan. Whether or not it’s a good plan remains to be seen.