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Riley Cooper doesn’t care about target totals

By Kevin Parvizi

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There’s no point in mincing words, because any attempt to sugar-coat his performance is essentially a blatant lie: Riley Cooper has been horrible this season. The guy has probably been one of the worst receivers in the league to this early point of the year, and this, sadly, isn’t hyperbolic. Beyond the two touchdown passes he’s dropped, Cooper has also averaged a paltry 8.3 yards per reception, which is a far cry from his threatening 17.8 average last year. He’s not a bad player and did a great job of opening of the field last year, as he and Nick Foles built a top-notch rapport.

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    • Cooper has seemingly taken a back seat in the Eagles offense to Zach Ertz, rookie Jordan Matthews, and newcomer Darren Sproles, and that’s honestly all for the better. But you’d still like to see the offseason re-signing perform at a much higher level. I think he will, because the recent indicators look positive when it comes to catch rate and YAC. However, he’s still struggling when you look at YPR and mistakes; he’s leaving more plays on the field than he’s making, and the Eagles high-octane offense can’t afford that, especially with their OL injuries.

    According to CSN Philly’s Geoff Mosher, Cooper stated that he doesn’t care how many targets Jeremy Maclin gets relative to him, as long as the team is winning, “I feel like Nick is throwing to the open guy. If Maclin is open, throw it to him. I don’t care if he gets 20 targets a game. If we’re winning and we’re successful I honestly don’t care. The whole target thing, I don’t want any more, I don’t want any less. I dont care. I need to make the plays that are thrown to me.”

    That’s a good (if not necessary) perspective to have, and it’s a good thing Cooper is admitting that his drops and lack of big plays are troubling. He insists that he’s playing “good football”, but I don’t expect to find many people who would agree with that assertion. That said, I think Cooper will be able to turn things around, though I’m also more optimistic than others.

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