It took Amari Cooper one game to make the Cleveland Browns regret trading him

The Cleveland Browns left Week 7 with a record of 1-6, with an injury to Deshaun Watson that will have him sidelined for the rest of the season, and with more questions than answers about an offense that has once again failed to score 20 points for an entire season. The receivers against the Cincinnati Bengals actually played well, though, especially after losing its biggest target to a trade.

So, how did Amari Cooper do in his first game as a Buffalo Bill? Pretty well, considering he caught a touchdown pass on the run from QB Josh Allen after having no idea what route to run, and finished up his first game with 66 receiving yards. He also seemed to help open things up for the Bills other receivers, specifically Keon Coleman, who finished with 125 receiving yards.

Cooper sung his praises of his new quarterback, saying after the game "He had his, I believe, his 100th start. Seems like he had 100 amazing performances. I guess this was no different. He went out there and did his thing like he usually does, but he’s a phenomenal player, for sure.”

Allen said after the game that Cooper's already making his life a lot easier under center, as Buffalo desperately needed a true WR1 to power up its already great offense.

“They’ve got to respect him...they’ve got to cloud over there and give that cornerback some help . . . And if they didn’t, we threw him the ball. So I guess pick your poison with that. It makes the quarterback position a lot easier," Allen said of Cooper.

Cooper had a drop on his first pass from Allen, and that might have perked up some Browns fans' eyes and ears waiting to see if he would just continue to struggle to catch balls with a new regime. No such luck for the rest of the game as it now seems he and Allen have formed chemistry fairly immediately.

Cooper's presence could have been useful for whoever the Browns bring in as its QB1 after Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles injury. His veteran leadership in the receiving room and his experience as a reliable receiver prior to this year could have helped get someone like Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston get acclimated to this offense as the team's new starter.

Now, they will have to rely on a room featuring Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, and Cedric Tillman, in addition to TEs David Njoku and Jordan Akins. Both Akins and Njoku looked great in the Week 7 loss while Jeudy, Moore, and Tillman will need some more reps with whoever the new QB is moving forward to play more reliably. But the loss of Cooper is felt even more now with the need to find consistent receiver play.

WR1 for the Browns

Cleveland saw the most targets in Week 7 go to Njoku, an indication of how the Browns will be running its offense moving forward. With the addition of Nick Chubb back in the lineup, Njoku could become a lot more important as not just a receiver but a run blocker, as well. His ability to block and receive for short yardage on high volume will be big for chugging this offense along.

Is Njoku, then, the de facto WR1 for the Browns? Not necessarily - it's too early to tell how Cleveland plans to implement its receivers in an offense with a new signal caller for the rest of the season. But, Njoku - and Akins - are two excellent options to help keep opposing teams' defenses honest and have them respect not just Cleveland's run game, but its yards in the air as well.

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