NY Jets swap Robby Anderson for Amari Cooper in ESPN prediction piece

Could the NY Jets swap Robby Anderson for Amari Cooper this offseason? Here are all the details via an ESPN offseason prediction piece.

The NY Jets could lose wide receiver Robby Anderson in free agency this offseason. If that does happen a recent ESPN column from the Football Outsiders suggests the team could swap him out for Dallas Cowboys star receiver Amari Cooper.

Here’s the full analysis from ESPN:

“The Jets’ receiving corps needs to be rounded out. In 2019, the passing offense was feast or famine living through Anderson down the field and a handful of others taking up receptions in the quick game. As such, it would best for coach Adam Gase’s milquetoast offense to function through a different, more well-rounded receiver, and for Anderson to find a team willing to shell out cash for a vertical threat.

The free-agent wide receiver class is rather thin and top-heavy, but a couple of candidates still fit into Gase’s schematic modus operandi.

Cooper would add a new, do-it-all outside threat that the team did not have last season. Cooper can be a vertical threat just the same as he can be a quick-game savant and yards-after-catch threat. His 325 DYAR ranked third in the NFL in 2019, trailing only Michael Thomas and Chris Godwin. Cooper will be the most expensive option, but he would fill more roles within the offense than any other receiver on the market.”

Depending on what happens with the CBA could affect whether or not Amari Cooper reaches unrestricted free agency.

Right now NFL teams possess both a franchise tag and a transition tag that they can use to retain two of their players. If a new CBA is agreed to teams will only have one tag available (the franchise tag) which means the Dallas Cowboys would have to choose Dak Prescott or Amari Cooper to hand it to, not both.

In a quarterback-driven league, it seems somewhat obvious that the Cowboys would retain Dak thus allowing Cooper to reach free agency.

If/when Amari Cooper does reach the open market, he will be paid handsomely. Per Spotrac, his current market value is a five-year deal for over $98 million which would average out to $19.7 million per season.

That would currently rank second among all wide receivers only behind Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons who is averaging an insane $22 million per season on his brand new deal.

If you could have Robby Anderson or Amari Cooper who would you rather have? It’s time for the NY Jets to step up to the plate and improve the talent around Sam Darnold, adding Cooper would go a long way towards doing that this offseason.