Cooper trade. Shame me.

[PhillySpecial]

I just fire sold Amari Cooper due to current injuries, a crowded WR room, and a poor finish to last season. Please tell me I lost this trade and shame me. I do own a plethora of young studly WRs but still feel I undersold. I reached out to every owner and the only guy to pony up was the deal below.

Gave: Cooper

Got: Zack Moss, 2021 second, 2022 second.

[Gator Sens]

Not great at all ha ha, but hopefully Moss hits at least.

[jomaed]

Selling top players in 10 teamers is rarely the way to go. Giving up the best player in a trade in a 10 team league is rarely the way to go. Selling this low on a top 20 player is never the way to go. Unless you can see the future and zach moss turns into a top RB shame on you!

[Eight7Seven]

Moss is one of my favorite second round picks this year, so you turned one player into three decent prospects. I think you definitely came up short in this trade, but I'm a big fan of Cooper. I don't think Cooper had a bad year last year, his points per target have nearly always been top ten.

If you think he's on a downward trajectory and this was the best you could find, then good for you. When we talk about value we're speaking in a vacuum. If you're in a league that doesn't consider Cooper a foundational piece, holding out for a price you're never going to get is foolhardy.

[jjleurquin]

I think this is one of those trades that doesn't look good now but could end up looking good in the future. All signs point to Moss not only being involved but being the more fantasy relevant back in buffalo, and those prospects could hit. You never know.

[cvbuc]

If you had simply told everyone in the league that Coop was available you would have likely gotten a better deal within 90 seconds.

[M-Dub]

Oof. I’m definitely lower on Cooper than most, but that’s just awful.

[repkllrs]

Oof. I’m definitely lower on Cooper than most, but that’s just awful.

This

[esulek80]

Not a great trade but I suppose it could of been worse. Key to it for me is how Moss shakes out. If he turns into the guy in Buffalo and clearly overtakes Singletary I think it makes your trade much closer then it appears at this point in time.

I traded Cooper during my rookie draft a few weeks back. Traded him straight up for the 6th overall pick which on the surface probably doesn't sound like a win but my team was so deep at WR (see signature) and I needed more RB help.

Dobbins who I loved going into the draft had slipped and was available at that 6th pick and I couldn't pass the opportunity up. I was so so with my longterm outlook on Cooper so I had it in me to part with him.

The trade calculator literally had Cooper and Dobbins value both within 1 pt of one another so I figured it couldn't of been a horrible trade on my part especially if it was going to help me at a position I felt I needed it most.

[MFundercover]

Sometimes you cant get fair value and you're forced to hold. I don't love Cooper for Fantasy so I see why you'd be wanting to sell.

[Mtt33]

Selling insanely low on 1 guy and buying insanely high on some camp hype on another guy in the same trade is generally a recipe for disaster. Good luck.

[sugbear65]

Any way you wanna frame it, you left a lot of value on the table.

[abloom]

So essentially 3 seconds for Cooper. Yeah that's horrible

[PhillySpecial]

Thanks for the honest responses. I know I sold low, lost value (short term), and deserved to be stripped naked and walk the town square while people throw old fruit at me.

I am not justifying the trade and again realize it was not a good deal (short term) but hear my reasons:

1) Cooper's finishes the past three seasons - WR10, WR17, WR42. I feel his peak was 2019 and is moreso a top 20 WR than a top 10 WR. I don't consider him a top 20 overall asset at all. He is entering year six and he is what he is - 70 receptions, 1000 yards and 7 scores. He had opportunity to be the alpha over the past five seasons and never really fulfilled his expectations. Now he has to compete for targets in a team loaded with young talent.
2) Very boom/bust on a weekly basis and had more weeks with single digit points than weeks over 20 points.
3) Based on my weekly requirements (2RB, 2WR, 3 Flex)- I feel more confident starting AJB, DK, McLaurin, Chark, Golladay without Cooper on a weekly basis. I still have Diggs & Reagor to cover bye weeks.
4) I feel AJB, DK, McLaurin, Chark, and Reagor are ascending assets while Cooper is a descending asset. The articles and podcasts I partake all have negative views of Cooper and his current/future value.
5) Cooper has been on four teams in three years in my league - the sentiment on Cooper is low and trust me I shopped him to all owners with a league email and follow-up texts. The interest was very low.
6) Cooper may have been the second best WR on his team last year. McCarthy has praised Gallup all offseason, CeeDee is showing out, and Cooper is off in the corner with his trainer nursing lower body injuries. Cooper could be the WR3 on his own team in 2021.

I know there are positives to Cooper that I did not mention but the argument to sell is strong - too bad I couldn't find a better deal. If Cooper is hurt week 1 and Gallup/CeeDee have nice games, than Cooper loses even more value. Zack Moss should immediately take the Gore role which is 170 rushes and be the passing down back. I am optimistic that Moss surpasses Singletary and is in line for 200 rushes and 40/50 targets. The camp 'hype' is very high on Moss and the news is negative on Singletary with fumbles and poor blocking.

Keep the shame coming my way!

[The MAC Machine]

From a value standpoint there’s a gap. But sometimes that also depends on the people in your league and how they view a player. I think in general you lost value. But I don’t actually think you lost the trade because holding Amari doesn’t provide you with opportunity to build. You are just a year or two ahead of the crossroad. However, I don’t think you’d be able to get this deal by years end as the crossroad comes more into plain sight. So while you left value on the table (and yes there may be shame on that depending on how you approached dealing Amari), you would have left more on the table had you not done anything at all.