PFF’s hypothetical trade has Cowboys sending Amari Cooper to the Jacksonville Jaguars

History suggests PFF’s hypothetical Amari Cooper trade is fair and doable.

As it pertains to his future with the Dallas Cowboys, Amari Cooper may find himself feeling like he’s kind of in limbo right now. He doesn’t know whether or not be returning in 2022 or if he’ll become a salary-cap casualty. That unknown has created quite a bit of speculation already this offseason, which lead to a recent hypothetical trade scenario by PFF.

In this hypothetical trade, the Dallas Cowboys received the Jacksonville Jaguars second-round pick (33rd overall) and fifth-round pick in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft in exchange for Amari Cooper. On the surface, this trade scenario looks to be mutually beneficial for both organizations.

The Jaguars have the salary-cap space to easily take on Cooper’s contract and the Cowboys would be saving $16 million against the cap by trading away their high-priced wide receiver. And, the compensation to facilitate this trade seems fair. Or is it?

To understand whether this hypothetical Amari Cooper trade is fair or not, we really have to examine past WR trades to fully comprehend the compensation involved.

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Past comparable WR trades

• Odell Beckham Jr. – On March 13, 2019, Beckham was acquired by the Cleveland Browns, along with Olivier Vernon, in exchange for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, and the Browns’ first- and third-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.
• Stefon Diggs – On March 16, 2020, the Vikings traded Diggs and their seventh-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills for their first-, fifth-, and sixth-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, in addition to a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
• DeAndre Hopkins – On March 20, 2020, the Texans traded Hopkins and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick.
• Brandin Cooks – On April 10, 2020, Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round draft pick were traded to the Houston Texans in exchange for the Texans’ second-round draft pick.
• Julio Jones – On June 6, 2021, the Falcons traded Jones along with a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for their second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft and their fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Although there are other factors to take in consideration (age, contract, other players involved, etc.), other than the DeAndre Hopkins trade – arguably the worst trade ever – the draft compensation involved in all of the other WR trades seems pretty comparable to what PFF predicted the Cowboys could receive in return for Amari Cooper.

So, what do you think? Would you be happy if the Dallas Cowboys made this trade?