The Cowboys gave up a first-round draft pick to get Amari Cooper. The receiver looked the part Thursday in his fourth game with the Cowboys.
“Jack Del Rio told me before we made the trade, he said, ‘Just look at the Kansas City film a year ago,’” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “We just said to hell with it. We’re not going to do anything but throw him the ball. Just look at that, and that will show you what Amari is like. And so that [game today] kind of reminded me a little of what [Del Rio] was trying to say.
“I’m proud for him. He’s working hard. He’s so conscientious, and I just am so proud that we have him.”
Cooper had 210 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches for the Raiders against the Chiefs on Oct. 10, 2017. He had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys on Thursday against Washington.
“I don’t want to prove the Raiders wrong,” Cooper said. “I just want to prove the Cowboys right. They traded for me, and I’m going to be a good player for them.”
It was the most yards by a Cowboys receiver since Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns in an overtime loss to the Saints in a 2012 game.
It was the kind of game Cooper envisioned when he joined the Cowboys.
“I tried to come in here and be an asset as soon as possible,” he said. ". . . I want to come out here and help my team win and prove that the Cowboys were right in trading for me, and I think this is one step toward doing that.”
In four games with the Cowboys, Cooper has 22 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns.
Cooper said he clicked with Dak Prescott from Day One.
“I realized it from the first practice,” Cooper said. “I just love his delivery. I love the way he throws the ball. It’s an easy ball to catch. We’re on the same page when I talk to him about something. It works. He’s just a great guy to have as my quarterback.”
Cooper celebrated his first touchdown -- a 40-yarder -- by mocking 76ers guard Markelle Fultz’s free-throw shooting. Fultz showed a sense of humor, though, by retweeting video of Cooper’s free throw over the crossbar.
“I just thought it would be a cool thing to do,” Cooper said. “I don’t really watch the NBA like that until playoff time, but I seen a couple of highlights of him doing it.”
