Getty Oakland Raiders WR Martavis Bryant
The Oakland Raiders once again proved they’re more than willing to remain active on the trade market and move big names in the process. On Monday, the team opted to trade another former first-round pick following their 1-5 start to the 2018 NFL season. This time, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed, it was former No. 4 pick Amari Cooper who was sent to the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys traded a first-round pick to Raiders for WR Amari Cooper, per source.
The Raiders’ decisions clearly point to a rebuild, but it also opens the door for a few other players to potentially step up. While Jordy Nelson will likely become the new top wideout for Jon Gruden and company, it also may impact someone like Martavis Bryant moving forward.
And for fantasy football players, that could mean a new target on the waiver wire ahead of Week 8, as he’s unlikely to have much ownership currently.
Martavis Bryant’s Fantasy Value After Amari Cooper Trade
One thing that really stands out about this move is the snap counts. Nelson is already averaging 86.9 percent of the team’s offensive snaps through six games, so it’s unknown how much that number will increase. As Football Outsiders shows, Bryant has played 37.4 percent, just slightly behind Seth Roberts’ 40.7 percent.
To this point, Bryant hasn’t been able to do much in terms of production, but he has shown glimpses of the big-play upside we know he’s capable of. In Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the 26-year-old caught three passes for 91 yards, and the week prior caught 3-of-7 targets for 51 yards.
Bryant has seen two or more targets in each game, but with Cooper gone, his average targets could more than double. If Roberts plays in the slot and the former Pittsburgh Steelers pass-catcher starts outside with Nelson, he’ll see a huge increase in both snaps and targets from Derek Carr.
Time will tell, but for the time being, I’d at least consider adding him in most 12-plus player fantasy leagues.
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