The trade catapults Amari Cooper to the top

The Buffalo Bills spent the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season searching for Josh Allen's No. 1 receiver.

They finally found one by making a trade for Cleveland Browns star Amari Cooper.

Cooper got off to a slow start with the Browns, hauling in just 24 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns as Deshaun Watson's top target. Now he'll team up with Allen to revitalize a Bills passing attack that's still feeling the effects of the offseason trade for Stefon Diggs.

Cooper is the second top receiver to be traded on Tuesday, October 15th. He was traded to the Bills just hours after the New York Jets completed a long-awaited deal to reunite Aaron Rodgers with Davante Adams.

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Here's what you should know about the Cooper deal and what impact it will have on the Bills' wide receiver room.

Amari Cooper trading details

Below are the full details of the Cooper trade:

get bills:

WR Amari Cooper
2025 sixth round pick

Get Browns:

2025 third round pick
2026 seventh-round pick

The Browns originally acquired Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick swap. So they get a good return on their No. 1 receiver.

It's not clear if the Adams are in a trade influenced the Browns' compensation for Cooper. As part of this trade, the Jets sent the Las Vegas Raiders a third-round pick that can become a second-round pick under certain conditions.

Bills WR depth chart

The Bills now have six wide receivers on their 53-man roster after acquiring Cooper. Here's a look at how the 30-year-old fits in with the other options already on Buffalo's roster:

Amari Cooper
Keon Coleman
Khalil Shakir
Mack Hollins
Curtis Samuel
Marquez Valdes Scantling

Below, learn more about the role each receiver will play for the duration of the 2024 NFL season.

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Amari Cooper

Cooper will now be Buffalo's No. 1 receiver. The 10-year veteran will bring much-needed experience to Buffalo's young receiver room, providing Allen with a reliable target who can challenge all levels of the defense with his route-running abilities.

Cooper averaged 75 catches, 1,205 yards and seven touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Browns before taking a step back amid Watson's struggles. He should have a chance to bounce back and regain his 1,000-yard form alongside a perennial MVP candidate like Allen.

Keon Coleman

Believe it or not, no Bills receiver has played more snaps this season than Coleman. The second-round rookie has logged 231 snaps this season, a snap percentage of 64.17 percent, and has slowly started to develop a rhythm with Allen.

Coleman has only had 12 catches this season, but has racked up 201 yards and two scores on those catches. The 6-4, 215-pound receiver has great size that makes him a good blocker and should eventually become a competitive catching weapon as he gets stronger at the point of attack. Cooper's presence should help get Coleman into more advantageous matches. So don't be surprised if his move into the role of true No. 2 receiver pays dividends later this year.

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Khalil Shakir

Shakir is the receiver Allen has the most chemistry with. That's hardly surprising considering the third-year pro was the only holdover from Buffalo's 2023 receiving corps in 2024.

Still, Shakir has only played 44.44 percent of the team's snaps because, at 6-0 and 190 pounds, he's not much of a blocker. He gave up snaps in two tight end sets to Dawson Knox, while Coleman and Mack Hollins were on the field more often.

Shakir will continue to be Buffalo's top slot receiver and should have more room with Cooper. He already has 20 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns and should continue to be a trusted outlet for Allen as the seventh-year quarterback builds a relationship with his newcomer.

Mack Hollins

Hollins has played just two fewer snaps than Coleman, the Bills' wide receiver snap leader. However, the addition of Cooper should lead to the experienced Hollins taking over the No. 4 receiver role, a position that better suits his skill set.

Hollins is a gritty veteran with great size at 6-4, 221 pounds, but he has only exceeded 251 receiving yards once in his seven NFL seasons. So far in 2024, he has seven catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. The 31-year-old certainly has a role as a strong blocker and situational red zone threat, but his skillset will be better as a top backup than as a starter, as he plays 63.61 percent of the snaps.

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Curtis Samuel

Samuel had his best game with the Bills in Week 6 when he caught three passes for 44 yards against the Jets. Even so, it's still clear that the 5-11, 195-pound veteran is a situational player best used as a hybrid threat on the perimeter and out of the backfield.

Samuel's primary role going forward will likely be spelling Shakir and occasionally seeing snaps in the backfield to keep opposing defenses off balance. He has 12 catches for 92 yards in six games, so he doesn't appear to be much of a producer.

Marquez Valdes Scantling

Valdes-Scantling was signed to provide the Bills with a deep threat, but Hollins beat him out for a starting role in Buffalo's offense. MVS has only two catches for 26 yards in six games with the team, despite outrebounding Samuel 141-127.

With Cooper in tow, Valdes-Scantling could lose his role entirely. The Bills will likely keep him because of his combination of size (6-4, 206 pounds) and speed, but he's clearly at the bottom rung of Buffalo's depth chart.