As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. When you don’t see us talking about Christine Michael or Mike Davis, don’t get mad at us for neglecting your favorite sleeper. Get mad at yourself for having bad taste in football players. We are only focusing on the top-rated players in standard scoring and points per game leagues.
With my player profiles, I’ve only decided to go back to look at their fantasy scoring for three years. I could show you lists from earlier, but most of the guys at the top are no longer in the league anymore. I’ve also added a chart for their usage over that time span. We will try to determine, based on those two factors, where the best wide receiver value lies.
Amari Cooper ADP and AAV
Standard: 13th among WRs, 34th overall
PPR: 12th among WRs, 29rd overall
Amari Cooper Average Auction Value (AAV) $200 Budget: $38
Stats:
FANTASY SCORING — STANDARD
| Rank | Total Points | PPG Rank | PPG | |
| 2018 | 19th | 140.4 | 24th | 9.4 |
| 2017 | 3rd | 182.2 | 4th | 11.4 |
| 2016 | 12th | 148.9 | 15th | 9.3 |
FANTASY SCORING — PPR
| Rank | Total Points | PPG Rank | PPG | |
| 2018 | 19th | 215.4 | 22nd | 14.4 |
| 2017 | 36th | 158.4 | 34th | 11.3 |
| 2016 | 14th | 230.9 | 16th | 14.4 |
FANTASY USAGE
| Receptions | Receptions Per Game | Targets | Targets Per Game | |
| 2018 | 75 | 5.0 | 107 | 7.2 |
| 2017 | 48 | 3.4 | 96 | 6.8 |
| 2016 | 83 | 5.2 | 132 | 8.3 |
Overview: Cooper finally showed his well-known talents after ditching a Raiders mess for a smoothly-oiled Cowboys offense, breaking out for 725 yards and 6 touchdowns in 9 games with Dallas.
Strategy: Our Amari Cooper Auction Value ($200 Budget): $34
If we extrapolate Cooper’s time with Dallas to a full season, we get 1289 yards, 94 catches, and 11 TDs. That corresponds to 194.9 points in standard, good enough for 6th among WRs, and 288.9 points in PPR, which would place him 9th. That’s not a bad return for a guy going 13th in standard and 12th in PPR. We like him around the 2/3 turn and mid-$30s in draft. We’d be a bit higher on him, except there are plenty of similarly-projected pass-catchers going around that time (Evans, Allen, Hilton, Thielen) so there’s no need to reach or overbid.
Best Case Scenario: Cooper gets even more used to Dak Prescott and finishes as a mid-level WR1.
Worst Case Scenario: It turns out Cooper’s breakout was just a statistical aberration and he regresses to around mid-WR2 levels.
