The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2025 NFL draft needing more help at wide receiver but invested far less in the position than anyone expected.
Of course, we know the Seahawks lost both Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf this offseason, and they were replaced with Cooper Kupp, who is set to be 32 and is injury-prone, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a career backup.
Safe to say, that simply isn’t enough to fortify a wide receivers room that includes 2024 breakout star, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Even if Kupp and MVS play well in 2024, Seattle’s future at the position is murky, at best.
The Seahawks did add a pair of wideouts in the 2025 NFL draft, but those picks came in the late rounds and the chances of either one of those players panning out isn’t great.
In order to fix their shaky situation at wide receiver in the short term, Pro Football and Sports Network’s Sterling Xie predicts Seattle will add Amari Cooper in free agency.
“Cooper was a poor fit in Buffalo after a midseason trade, but he had 1,250 receiving yards and averaged 2.31 yards per route in 2023 with the Browns. Cooper benefited from Joe Flacco’s willingness to give him downfield chances and thrived with a career-high 14.3 aDOT that season,” Xie explained. “Sam Darnold has traditionally ranked in the upper half of the league in aDOT (he was 11th in 2024), and he could provide Cooper with that same opportunity in Kubiak’s play-action-heavy offense.”
Cooper had a down season in 2024, but he also had to deal with shoddy quarterback play in Cleveland and a midseason transition to Buffalo, so it’s not just as simple as saying he’s on the decline.
Prior to his down year, Cooper had compiled seven 1,000-yard seasons and was one of the most reliable targets in the NFL.
Even a diminished Cooper would be a welcomed one-year addition in Seattle, as he’d provide a more reliable target on the boundary in place of Valdes-Scantling, who is better suited as a depth receiver and deep threat specialist.
Coming off his down season, and with it being so late in free agency, Cooper should come relatively cheap, which only makes it more logical for Seattle to pursue him in free agency.
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