Yahoo Sports Bills WR depth chart: Amari Cooper trade gives Josh Allen new weapon
This article has been updated to reflect new information.
The Buffalo Bills spent the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season searching for Josh Allen's No. 1 receiver.
They finally found one by swinging a trade for Cleveland Browns star Amari Cooper.
Cooper got off to a slow start with the Browns, posting just 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns as Deshaun Watson's top target. Now, he will team up with Allen to invigorate a Bills passing attack that is still feeling the impact of the offseason Stefon Diggs trade.
Cooper is the second marquee receiver to be traded on Tuesday, Oct. 15. He was dealt to the Bills just hours after the New York Jets made a long-awaited deal to reunite Aaron Rodgers with Davante Adams.
DAVANTE ADAMS TRADE GRADES: Who won between Jets, Raiders?
Here's what to know about the Cooper deal and how it will impact the Bills' wide receiver room.
Amari Cooper trade details
Below are the full details of the Cooper trade:
Bills get:
WR Amari Cooper
2025 sixth-round pick
Browns get:
2025 third-round pick
2026 seventh-round pick
The Browns originally acquired Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick swap. Thus, they are getting a good return for their No. 1 receiver.
It isn't clear whether the Adams trade influenced the Browns' compensation for Cooper. As part of that trade, the Jets sent the Las Vegas Raiders a third-round pick that can conditionally become a second-round pick.
Bills WR depth chart
The Bills have five wide receivers on their 53-man roster after the acquisition of Cooper and the release of Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Here's a look at how the 30-year-old fits in with the other options already on Buffalo's roster:
Below is more about the role each receiver will play for the duration of the 2024 NFL season.
NFL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 7: Where do Jets land after loss to Bills, Davante Adams trade?
Amari Cooper
Cooper will immediately slot in as Buffalo's No. 1 receiver. The 10-year veteran will bring much-needed experience to Buffalo's young receiver room and give Allen a reliable target who can challenge all levels of the defense with his route-running abilities.
Cooper averaged 75 catches, 1,205 yards, and seven touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Browns before taking a step back amid Watson's struggles. He should have a chance to bounce back and regain his 1,000-yard form paired with a perennial MVP candidate like Allen.
Keon Coleman
Believe it or not, no Bills receiver has played more snaps than Coleman this season. The second-round rookie has logged 231 snaps this season, good for a 64.17 percent snap share, and has slowly started to develop a rhythm with Allen.
Coleman has just 12 catches on the season but has logged 201 yards and two scores on those catches. The 6-4, 215-pound receiver has great size, which makes him a quality blocker, and should eventually be a contested-catch weapon as he gets stronger at the point of attack. Cooper's presence should help put Coleman in more advantageous matchups, so don't be surprised if him shifting to the true No. 2 receiver role pays dividends as the year progresses.
TUA TAGOVAILOA INJURY UPDATE: Dolphins expect QB to play again in 2024
Khalil Shakir
Shakir is the receiver with whom Allen has the most chemistry. That's hardly surprising, considering the third-year pro was the lone holdover from Buffalo's 2023 receiving corps to the room in 2024.
Still, Shakir has only played 44.44 percent of the team's snaps because he isn't a big-time blocker at 6-0, 190 pounds. He has ceded snaps to Dawson Knox in two-tight-end sets, while Coleman and Mack Hollins have been more frequently on the field.
Shakir will continue to be Buffalo's top slot receiver and should have more room to operate with Cooper around. He already has 20 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns and should continue to be a trusted outlet for Allen as the seventh-year quarterback develops a rapport with his newest addition.
Mack Hollins
Hollins has only played two snaps less than Coleman, the Bills' wide receiver snap leader. However, the addition of Cooper should drop the veteran Hollins to the No. 4 receiver role, one that will better suit his skill set.
Hollins is a gritty veteran with great size at 6-4, 221 pounds, but he has only topped 251 receiving yards once in his seven NFL. Thus far in 2024, he has seven catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. The 31-year-old certainly has a role to play as a strong blocker and a situational red-zone threat, but his skill set will play better as a top backup than it did as a starter, playing 63.61 percent of the snaps.
MIKE FREEMAN: Dallas owner Jerry Jones remains the problem
Curtis Samuel
Samuel had his best game with the Bills in Week 6, catching three passes for 44 yards against the Jets. Despite this, it's still clear that the 5-11, 195-pound veteran is a situational player best used as a hybrid threat out wide and out of the backfield.
Samuel's main role moving forward will probably be to spell Shakir and occasionally see snaps in the backfield to keep opposing defenses off-balance. He has 12 catches for 92 yards across six games, so while he outlasted Valdes-Scantling in the battle for the final receiver role on Buffalo's depth chart, he doesn't seem like a big-time producer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bills WR depth chart: Trade catapults Amari Cooper to top
