Dallas Cowboys

Will the Dallas Cowboys regret trading Amari Cooper?

Published Mar. 29, 2022 7:27 p.m. ET

A handful of NFL teams have undergone drastic makeovers heading into the 2022 season, including the Dallas Cowboys.

While various teams have improved thus far, there are questions surrounding whether the Cowboys have also done that, especially with the trade of standout wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Cooper was shipped off to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick when free agency opened after being the Cowboys' leading receiver over the last four seasons.

Colin Cowherd believes the trade will dramatically impact the Cowboys' passing attack in 2022.

"We have numbers on Dak [Prescott] with Amari and Dak without Amari," Cowherd said on "The Herd."

"Dak ain't the same dude. Dak's passer rating plummets without Amari."

The Amari Cooper trade was a mistake

Now that the former Dallas player is headed to the Cleveland Browns, Colin makes the case that letting Cooper go was a mistake.

Cowherd is right, there is overwhelming statistical evidence to support that Prescott is not the same quarterback without Cooper.

Since 2018, the season the Cowboys acquired Cooper, Prescott is 28-16 with the wide receiver in the lineup compared to just 3-6 without him. The team also averaged 28.7 PPG with Cooper and just 20.2 PPG without him.

Prescott's passer rating in games with Cooper over the last four seasons is 102.9, and it's just 86.1 without him. The numbers couldn't be any more clear, Cooper was a big part of what made the Cowboys' offense elite.

The onus to fill the void left by Cooper will now fall on the shoulders of CeeDee Lamb, as well as Michael Gallup.

If the Cowboys aren't able to adequately replace Cooper's production, it will be hard for them to replicate the offensive potency they displayed in 2021 when they were second in passing (282.4 YPG) and first in scoring (31.1 PPG).

Dallas is known for headlines and intrigue every season, and that is sure to be the case once again in 2022.