Week 6: Fact or Fiction

In a special edition of Fact or Fiction for Week 6, we focus on trade narratives surrounding three Cleveland Browns veterans pushing toward the deadline.

(Photo - Cleveland Browns)

In the world of professional football, the line between imagination and reality can easily get blurry, often creating false narratives around players, teams, or specific games. Personal biases and the limited view from the game feed can also contribute to these distorted views. But rest easy, Browns fans, each week we’ll get to the truth of the matter through film analysis and game data in a series we’re calling “Fact or Fiction.”

Just today we saw two pieces of trade insights happen as receiver Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, and the same Jets are now allowing EDGE Haason Reddick to seek a trade of his own after his prolonged holdout. Things are going to start moving fast as contenders and non-contenders are setting their path for the rest of the season.

In a special edition of the weekly article, we are going to take a look at the narratives surrounding the trade market for a few veterans, as the Browns continue to underperform relative to expectations and push closer to the trade deadline.

(Photo - Cleveland Browns)

Amari Cooper, WR

The Browns traded a fifth-round pick (and a swap of sixth-round picks) for wide receiver Amari Cooper during the 2022 offseason. The veteran has been a steady presence at the position ever since.

Cooper eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in both 2022 and 2023, while also generating more than 2.0 yards per route run and around +60.0 total EPA for each respective season. Looking back at his most recent campaign in 2023, Cooper finished in the upper tier of a wide array of metrics, including the following:

• 1,250 receiving yards (10th)

• +59.9 EPA (12th)

• 2.32 adjusted yards per route run (13th)

• +113 yards after the catch over expected (19th)

His crisp route running, separation ability, and sure hands were a welcome change for what the Browns offense had experienced in years past. Fast forward to 2024, and unfortunately, Cooper has not performed up to expectations.