Do Rams need another receiver?

Amari Cooper is still a free agent, should the Rams give him a call?

The Rams enter training camp with a record-setting number one and a number two who has almost 12,000 career yards, but should L.A. keep adding to the room by signing Amari Cooper? The 31-year-old free agent is unsurprisingly coming off of his worst career season, but that could only make him more affordable as Sean McVay sorts out the rest of the wide receiver room between Tutu Atwell and Drake Stoops.

Cooper to the Rams was mentioned as a bold prediction by Moe Moton at Bleacher Report, noting that both sides have some appeal to the other, including Cooper’s potential desire to play for a contender at this stage of his career. So while some of the “rumored” teams include the Raiders, Cowboys, and Cardinals, does Cooper really believe he has a better shot at a Super Bowl with those teams than he would with the Rams?

And do the Rams think that Tutu Atwell is a better third receiver than if he’s able to split those duties with a receiver who has seven career 1,000-yard seasons?

Don’t forget that when the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, during that season they employed Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Odell Beckham Jr., Van Jefferson, and DeSean Jackson at various points in the season. By the Super Bowl, they were leaning on Ben Skowronek.

Would it really hurt to knock the door on additional receiver help when Jordan Whittington, Britain Covey, and Konata Mumpfield are the depth listed behind the three starters?

Amari Cooper may be better than his 2024 numbers indicate

Cooper had to deal with a remarkably bad 27% of his targets being “inaccurate throws” according to Fantasy Points Data, which could be the second-worst such mark in the NFL last season:

He also had to switch teams in the middle of the year.

Cooper spent the first six games with the Cleveland Browns and that mess of a situation, where he had a catch rate of 45.3% and 250 yards on 53 targets. Those numbers, including 4.7 yards per target, were easily the worst of his entire career.

And yet when Cooper joined Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills, he saw his catch rate go up to 62.5% and his yards per target double to 9.3.

He also had a success rate of 53.1 in Buffalo, a number right in line with his 1,000-yard campaigns.

Cooper’s responsibilities are low, but his value could be high

As we’ve done a great job of establishing at Turf Show Times, receivers 30 years and older are not highly desirable or productive in the NFL. So Cooper is not expected to go to a team and gain 1,000 yards or be a number one, or even a number two. Which is why L.A. does make sense as a destination.

• If healthy, Puka Nacua is going to get a minimum of 150 targets.
• If healthy and still good, Davante Adams could also get 150 targets.
• If the Rams are good, Matthew Stafford should throw the ball about 550-600 times.

We’ve seen that if Nacua and Adams are healthy, they’re going to automatically get at least 50% of the targets, but probably more like 55-60%. Then you’ve got Tyler Higbee around 85 targets, which is roughly another 20%.

Once you’ve chipped away at the pass catching opportunities, Cooper’s role would slot into the 64 targets that Demarcus Robinson had in 2024 and that’s without really changing the 62 targets that Tutu Atwell had last year. Atwell’s $10 million salary is essentially to continue to be that explosive option who slots into a role based on timing, not necessarily as a regular WR3.

Because going back to the “if healthy” statement, we know that Nacua and Adams both have relatively high odds of missing games this year. Whereas Robinson was not a good replacement for a starter, and neither is Atwell, Amari Cooper is very comfortable in that role. He’s not a receiver you actually want to start every week on purpose, but Cooper is a receiver who could be a solid third or fourth option when Nacua and Adams are healthy and an adequate short-term replacement if they’re out.

Or, because he’s 31, maybe not. Maybe Amari Cooper is bad now. It’s totally possible.

However, if his asking price is $3 million and incentives, what’s the harm? Are the Rams really going to be a Super Bowl contender with Konata Mumpfield if anything happens to a starter, just as it did (multiple times) in 2021?

The Rams don’t need another receiver right now…but we haven’t even started training camp yet. Should they grab one before they need one?