BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Other than the movie ‘Draft Day,’ Amari Cooper admits he didn’t know much about the Browns before being traded to Cleveland.
It wasn’t Sonny Weaver Jr. who swiped him from Dallas for a fifth-round pick and swap of sixth rounders in this year’s draft and he won’t be catching passes from Bo Callahan either.
Sure, he’d heard of Jim Brown and the current stable of running backs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt but that might be as far as his knowledge goes. But he’s willing to learn, and looking to change the script for the Browns, who struggled to produce much of anything consistently in the passing game last season.
“I understand that that’s the reason I’m here, to help the passing game improve, and I take that on,” Cooper said. “Because, again, I feel it’s my responsibility to do that, and it’s no worry, I know what I can do. I’m excited about it. I can’t wait to go out there and help the passing game improve. So just have to practice, just stay on top of things, to work on the tools in my tool bag to be that great wide receiver that they want me to do.”
The trade for Cooper was one of the first big dominoes to fall this offseason around the NFL and they haven’t stopped falling since.
But the Browns weren’t done.
Then came the Deshaun Watson trade that stunned everyone, including Cooper who was vacationing in Dubai when he heard the news. He got woken up by a bunch of text messages from friends and former teammates that caused him to check social media.
“I was elated,” Cooper said.
After failing to produce a single 600-yard receiver in 2021 and totaling just seven touchdowns from the receivers, the Browns are counting on Watson and Cooper to ignite a prolific passing attack the NFL’s Super Bowl contenders possess.
To get there, the work begins now and will continue throughout the offseason.
“You’re always going to work extra with your quarterback especially if it’s a new quarterback,” Cooper said. “He’s a great player. I’m a great player. We’re going to make it work by any means necessary.”
Cooper has caught at least seven touchdowns in a season four times and he’s racked up at least 1,000 yards and caught at least 70 passes five times.
Cooper comes to town with the expectation he will be the No. 1 receiver, Watson’s primary weapon in the passing game.
“I think as far as being his No. 1 receiver, that has to be earned,” Cooper said. “You just can’t come out and say this is the No. 1 guy. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. It has to be earned every day in OTAs, minicamp, training camp so I’m looking forward to going out there and earning the respect of Deshaun and allow him to say ‘I want to go to this guy. I’m confident in this guy.’ I know he’s going to come through for me, so I just have to go out there and prove it.”
Cooper will get plenty of opportunity to refine his skills in practice going against cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II as well as safety John Johnson III.
“It’s one of the first things I heard when I got here – we have some pretty good DBs,” Cooper said. “I look forward to the competition. That’s what it’s about at the end of the day, the games are about competition. There’s no player in this league who isn’t competitive and so I look forward to the competition with those guys, especially those guys who I’m going to go up against who have proven themselves. It’s going to be great work.”
A four-time Pro Bowler, Cooper also aims to help elevate the games of fellow receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz, selected by the team in each of the last two drafts.
“I’m a veteran, it’s my responsibility to help the younger guys,” Cooper said. “The thing about playing in the NFL, playing in any league I would assume, it goes by so fast. I’m already in my eighth year. I remember being the youngest guy because I was drafted when I was 20. And then as the years go by, sometimes you still kinda feel like you’re the youngest guy till you look up and you’re like, wait, I’m the oldest guy in the room. That’s when you start to realize, hey, it’s my responsibility to look after these guys, to make these guys better, to make the room better, to make the team better. And so I embrace that.”
Cooper also doesn’t mind Chubb and Hunt getting plenty of touches on the ground which reminds him of his college days.
“At Alabama we had a great running game, we were known for running the ball,” Cooper said. “I think any team that has assets they’re going to use them No. 1. No. 2, it’s just the run game opens up the pass game. So it’s not something that I’m really worried about, whether I get a lot or not. Just because we have such an explosive running game, I know that when I do get targeted, it’s going to be wide open. So it’s a win-win.”
As for the movie, what did he notice that was true?
“The colors,” Cooper said.