Player Spotlight: Chris Cooley (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

2008 Player Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The Shark Pool is, in our view, the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things fantasy football. In what's become an annual tradition, the Player Spotlight series is a key part of the preseason efforts. As many of you know, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. Last year, we published more than 140 offensive spotlights covering the vast majority of expected skill position starters. This year will be no different.

Each week we will post a list of players to be discussed. Those threads will remain open for the entire preseason, and should be a central point to discussion expectations for the player in question. Importantly, analysis done in the first week of posting will be part of the permanent record in two ways. 1) At the end of the week, we will tally the projections into a consensus. 2) We will select a number of pull quotes from forum contributors who make a compelling statement or observation. Both the projections and pull quotes will be part of a published article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Chris Cooley, TE, Washington Redskins

Player Page Link: Chris Cooley Player Page

Each article will include:

Detailed viewpoint from a Footballguys staff member
Highlighted member commentary from the message board threads
FBG Projections
Consensus Member ProjectionsThe Rules

In order for this thread to provide maximum value, we ask that you follow a few simple guidelines:

Focus commentary on the player in question, and your expectations for said player
Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"
To be included in the final synopsis and consensus outlook, you MUST provide projections for the playerProjections should include (at a minimum):

For QBs: Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Yards, Rush TDs
For RBs: Rushes, Rushing Yards, Rush TDs, Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs
For WRs & TEs: Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDsNow let's get on with the conversation! We look forward to your contributions and let me offer a personal thanks in anticipation of the great debate and analysis.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Chris Cooley will be thrust into the WCO this year under 1st year HC Jim Zorn...while I am not eager about the Redskins offense this season, I do realize that Cooley will get his. I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

In 2005 Cooley had 71 receptions, watched that dip to 57 in 2006, and then posted 66 in 2007. What has not changed is his yardage and TD over the past 3 seasons. 774/7, 734/6, and 786/8...he is very steady in the yds and TD.

Let's assume he is going to get 4 catches a game.

64/750/7TDs seems to a surefire number for this guy. He might not be the most explosive top5-10 TE but he sure is steady. Nothing wrong with grabbing him 3rd off the board after Gates and Witten...you won't lose barring injury with Chris Cooley.

 

[ChrisCooleyFan]

 

[The Man with the Plan]

After the top 4 TE's (Witten,Gates,Gonzalez,Winslow) are drafted he's probably the next best option.

65/750/6

 

[dgreen]

I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

They just gave him a new contract last season.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

They just gave him a new contract last season.

Well there you have it...so Washington wasted a 2nd rounder on Fred Davis.

 

[Yitbos69]

70/780/7

 

[dgreen]

I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

They just gave him a new contract last season.

Well there you have it...so Washington wasted a 2nd rounder on Fred Davis.

That was definitely my initial reaction when they made the Davis pick and my opinion certainly wasn't swayed when Davis overslept and missed his second day of mini camp. We'll see, though, how they're going to use everyone. They have Moss, ARE, Thomas, and Kelly at WR. Cooley and Davis at TE. Portis, Betts, and Sellers at RB. Add in either Mix or Thrash at WR and Yoder at TE and you have 11 guys for 5 spots on the field. IMO, Portis, Moss, and Cooley are the "every down" guys. My assumption is Davis will likely sub in mostly for Sellers for some 2 TE passing plays and ARE, Thomas, and Kelly will rotate looking for who will be the WR2. Unless Thomas or Kelly really emerge in year 1, I still see Cooley as 1b just behind Moss at 1a. Cooley has led the team in receptions the last two years and could easily do it again.

 

[Sidewinder16]

I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

They just gave him a new contract last season.

Well there you have it...so Washington wasted a 2nd rounder on Fred Davis.

That was definitely my initial reaction when they made the Davis pick and my opinion certainly wasn't swayed when Davis overslept and missed his second day of mini camp. We'll see, though, how they're going to use everyone. They have Moss, ARE, Thomas, and Kelly at WR. Cooley and Davis at TE. Portis, Betts, and Sellers at RB. Add in either Mix or Thrash at WR and Yoder at TE and you have 11 guys for 5 spots on the field. IMO, Portis, Moss, and Cooley are the "every down" guys. My assumption is Davis will likely sub in mostly for Sellers for some 2 TE passing plays and ARE, Thomas, and Kelly will rotate looking for who will be the WR2. Unless Thomas or Kelly really emerge in year 1, I still see Cooley as 1b just behind Moss at 1a. Cooley has led the team in receptions the last two years and could easily do it again.

Both Cooley and Davis have experience lining up as wideouts, and Cooley has plenty of experience starting out in the backfield, as well (HB/FB; not sure about Davis in this regard). With the depth they now have at WR and the versatility they have at TE (Sellers even provides some versatility as I'm pretty sure he's lined up like a HB/TE before) the potential for misdirection and creating mismatches with any given formation is huge. The 'Skins could send out a 2 TE package and end up in essentially a 4 WR set.Whether that all gets implemented is another question, but again the potential to give D coordinators fits by hiding what play they are running because of the versatility of the players in any given package is certainly there.

 

[T Bell]

I wondered if Washington drafted Fred Davis because they are not sure whether they can afford Cooley longterm...but that is pure speculation and I don't actually know what Cooley is signed to so i will bow out to the Skinsnation on that one.

They just gave him a new contract last season.

Well there you have it...so Washington wasted a 2nd rounder on Fred Davis.

They're going to run a lot of two-TE sets, and they want the defense to have to worry about either (or both) TE's potentially going out into routes on any given play. Cooley is the clear #1 guy, not only as a TE, but also as far as proven receivers go, so he's secure in his role. Zorn's offense will capable IMHO of supporting two top-15 TE's ultimately, sort of the way that Indy (which also ran a lot of two-TE sets) did circa 2004-05, though I expect Zorn's offense to probably emphasize the TE's more than the Colts did.My Cooley projections are that he's going to take a step forward from his production the last several years, especially in TD's: 75/900/9

 

[dgreen]

I projected 306 completions, 3417 yards, and 19 TDs for Jason Campbell playing a full season.

Over the last three seasons, Cooley has caught 22.3% of the Redskins completions for 23.9% of the passing yards and 33.9% of the receiving TDs. Fairly impressive numbers. And, they are even more impressive with Campbell. Cooley has pulled in 23.9% of Campbell's completions for 25.9% of Campbell's yards and 45.5% of Campbell's TDs!!! Yes, Cooley has been on the receiving end of 10 of Campbell's 22 TD passes.

Having all these new weapons who Campbell might not be too comfortable with early on could bode well for Cooley. If you think Campbell and Cooley have a good connection now, just wait until Campbell's options are Cooley or a rookie WR or TE. I'm going to give him 23% of Campbell's 306 completions, which is 70 receptions (one off his career high).

Cooley's averaging 12 YPC with Campbell (13.7 in 2006 and 11.1 in 2007). But, what kind of routes will he be running this year compared to Gibbs/Saunders? He's really good with the ball in his hands and can turn a quick slant or out pattern into a nice gain. However, under Gibbs/Saunders, he seemed to run a lot of stuff downfield and pick up some large chunks of yardage. I'm not sure how much of that will still be part of his game. I'll go with a slightly conservative, but still healthy for a TE, 11.5 YPC. Multiply that by his 70 receptions and he has a career high 809 yards.

As I mentioned, Cooley has hauled in 10 of Campbell's 22 career TDs. Based on his history with Campbell detailed above, Cooley would be in the 8-9 TD range (out of 19 Campbell TDs) in 2008. However, despite being Campbell's "go to guy", this year he should have some red zone competition from the three rookies. I think size was an important factor in the selection of Thomas, Kelly, and Davis. So, I'll stick with his three-year TD average of 7.

So, that leaves Cooley with 70-809-7 and likely a top 5 finish.

 

[T Bell]

He's really good with the ball in his hands and can turn a quick slant or out pattern into a nice gain.

I think he's the best TE in the NFL with the ball in his hands. Once he has possession, he runs like a FB, working his legs and lowering his shoulder, and is very tough to bring down. Arm tackles don't take him down. It's not talked about much, but because of this ability RAC is a big attribute of his.

 

[dgreen]

He's really good with the ball in his hands and can turn a quick slant or out pattern into a nice gain.

I think he's the best TE in the NFL with the ball in his hands. Once he has possession, he runs like a FB, working his legs and lowering his shoulder, and is very tough to bring down. Arm tackles don't take him down. It's not talked about much, but because of this ability RAC is a big attribute of his.

Right and he seemed to get his RAC yards under Gibbs/Saunders after running a medium or deep route. I have no data to support it, but I remember quite a few medium-to-deep post and corner routes the last couple years. Will the WCO have him running shorter routes, turning an 8-yard route into a 14-yard gain instead of turning a 12-yard route into an 18-yard gain?

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Chris Cooley is a big time tight end in this league. He's one of Jason Campbell's favorite targets and Cooley usually comes through in the clutch. There's no reason to believe Cooley doesn't finish around TE 4-6 yet again this year.

68 receptions, 790 yards and 8 td's

 

[dgreen]

Seeing as it's just preseason, I'm not sure how much to care about this. I've noticed Cooley off the field quite a bit in preseason while the 1st team is still on the field. I've seen many 2 RB/3 WR sets with Thrash in Cooley's place. I've also seen some 1 RB/4 WR sets without Cooley. Hopefully Zorn is just comfortable with what he has in Cooley and doesn't plan on sitting him a lot in the regular season, but I figured I'd pass along what I'm seeing so far.

 

[KellysHeroes]

CC is the #1 option in the Passing game and I expect more from him in the Zora offense. CC now has a ceiling equal to the top TEs in the league. Don't be surprised if he post 80 recs for 900.

 

[T Bell]

I've said before, Cooley and Portis are the two guys I have the most confidence in to maintain their level of production this year versus in years past under Gibbs. The rest I'm less sure about, but those two are

 

[dgreen]

I've said before, Cooley and Portis are the two guys I have the most confidence in to maintain their level of production this year versus in years past under Gibbs. The rest I'm less sure about, but those two are

I agree. It just jumped out at me these three games that he has spent more time off the field than he used to in favor of a WR. It's what Seattle does a lot. IIRC, they use a lot of the 2 RB/3WR sets. Then again, they don't have someone as good as Cooley. It would be crazy to put Thrash or a rookie WR on the field over Cooley and I'm hoping the preseason pattern isn't something that carries over to the regular season.

 

[fatness]

Chris Cooley has trouble operating everyday devices

 

[Bizkiteer]

I've said before, Cooley and Portis are the two guys I have the most confidence in to maintain their level of production this year versus in years past under Gibbs. The rest I'm less sure about, but those two are

I agree. It just jumped out at me these three games that he has spent more time off the field than he used to in favor of a WR. It's what Seattle does a lot. IIRC, they use a lot of the 2 RB/3WR sets. Then again, they don't have someone as good as Cooley. It would be crazy to put Thrash or a rookie WR on the field over Cooley and I'm hoping the preseason pattern isn't something that carries over to the regular season.

I agree it could be a concern as I've noticed it a few times myself. Hard to get a feel though as they surely are not running several of their starters as much as in the past. I'll also add, which I haven't seen mentioned, that they also plan to spread Cooley out wide at different times. Granted that has been done before, but having Cooley take a slot type of role can make for some interesting matchups to say the least.

 

[dgreen]

I'll also add, which I haven't seen mentioned, that they also plan to spread Cooley out wide at different times. Granted that has been done before, but having Cooley take a slot type of role can make for some interesting matchups to say the least.

That's what I'd hope for, but I get a little when I see Thrash in the slot instead of Cooley or Thrash and McMullen in a 4 WR spread formation.

 

[Bizkiteer]

I'll also add, which I haven't seen mentioned, that they also plan to spread Cooley out wide at different times. Granted that has been done before, but having Cooley take a slot type of role can make for some interesting matchups to say the least.

That's what I'd hope for, but I get a little when I see Thrash in the slot instead of Cooley or Thrash and McMullen in a 4 WR spread formation.

Amen brother!!! You are not the only one...