The Arizona Cardinals drafted Marvin Harrison Jr. with the intent to make their offense a powerhouse. While the rookie had an up-and-down season, the balance of this unit is nothing short of elite.
Despite some hiccups, the Cardinals finished as the best offense for a team that finished out of the postseason. They joined the 2022 Detroit Lions, 2021 Los Angeles Chargers, and 2019 Dallas Cowboys as teams to finish out of the playoffs with a top-five ranking in PFSN’s Offense+ metric.
Now, the Cardinals are being predicted to strengthen their offense further this offseason by adding wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Cardinals Projected To Add Amari Cooper Alongside Marvin Harrison Jr.
The 2024 NFL season was a strange one for Cooper. He started as the Cleveland Browns’ No. 1 receiving option but only appeared in six games before being traded to the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo didn’t have a No. 1 outside receiving option coming into 2024, and Cooper was immediately placed in that spot upon his arrival. He started hot with a touchdown in his first game against the Tennessee Titans but only scored one more time the rest of the regular season.
Cooper ranks 30th in PFSN’s Top 100 Free Agent rankings. With Buffalo, he was limited to 20 receptions for 297 yards in eight regular-season games, missing two games with a wrist injury (he also sat out the Week 18 contest with many of the Bills’ starters).
Even when he did play, the Bills largely rotated Cooper with Mack Hollins. Cooper averaged 28 snaps per game with Buffalo, the fifth-most among wide receivers on the team.
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However, despite the decline in his form, ESPN’s Matt Bowen believes his experience can serve well for Harrison and the Cardinals, thereby predicting that Arizona will acquire him in free agency.
“Cooper is showing signs of decline, and he lost reps to Mack Hollins in the playoffs, but he still has solid route traits. The Cardinals would love a veteran like him alongside Marvin Harrison Jr., while also giving Kyler Murray another target in the route tree. In nine full seasons, Cooper has topped the 1,000-yard-receiving mark seven times and has 64 career touchdown catches.”
While Cooper’s experience can indeed serve the Cardinals, Arizona’s offense was already firing under Harrison and Trey McBride, who topped the team in receiving yards with 1,146 and 885, respectively.
That didn’t result in a playoff appearance in Jonathan Gannon’s second season as head coach, but an improvement to the 27th-ranked unit in Defense+ could easily result in a playoff trip in 2025.