Despite an outstanding year offensively in Bills' OC Joe Brady's "everybody eats" offense, the state of the Buffalo Bills wide receiver room is a topic of hot debate — as it seems to be every offseason since they drafted Josh Allen.
The recent extension of breakout slot receiver, Khalil Shakir, offers a shifty, dependable target for Allen but there is still the sense that they are lacking a true number one outside playmaker, especially since 2024 draft pick Keon Coleman had an up and down rookie year. Which is why the Bills traded for five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper midway through the season, hoping he'd be their "true No. 1".
That did not happen. Cooper played in eight games for Buffalo -- including the two playoff contests -- after being acquired from the Browns in October. As the Bills again look to bolster their weapons for MVP Allen, ESPN analyst Seth Walder tags Cooper as "overrated" -- a clear recommendation that Buffalo not resign Cooper.
"I'm inclined to be bearish on Cooper going forward simply because he's a 31-year-old receiver coming off a poor season." Walder wrote, "There's a good chance he'll never approach his 2023 form, when he made the Pro Bowl after catching 72 passes for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns
Walder continued, "[Cooper] barely produced with league MVP Josh Allen as his quarterback, catching only 20 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in eight regular-season games with Buffalo...advanced numbers indicate a decline, too. Since 2020, Cooper's open score in ESPN'sreceiver scores has steadily dropped, going from 64 to 58 to 54 to 46 to 39 this season. And his overall score of 23 was tied for eighth-worst among wide receivers."
Cooper was a game-breaking threat the last time he signed a $100 million free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. It's now 2025 and with the data clearly not favorable according to Walder, the Bills would be well-advised to let someone else pay the "overrated" Cooper.
