Amari Cooper Cowboys Secret: 'Thinking 3 Steps Ahead'

FRISCO - It's well-known that Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper is devoted to at least two games - football and chess. And, he says, there is a tie between the two.

“Just being able to think three steps ahead of the guy,'' the Dallas Pro Bowl pass-catcher said in a recent interview with former NFL players Brian Baldinger and Kurt Warner on NFL.com, when asked about his "greatest strength. "So as a receiver, my game is to try to make my route look like a different route than I’m actually running.”

.@AmariCooper9 with a #Cowboys Clinic on Route-Running https://t.co/y2q8iaSt36 via @YouTube
— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) June 20, 2020

Cooper is indeed a meticulous and clever runner of routes, one of the host of reasons that over the course of five seasons in the league he has amassed over 5,000 yards receiving, 33 touchdowns and 357 receptions.

Cooper, 26 and now moving forward after re-signing with the Cowboys this offseason with a five-year, $100-million deal, experienced relative ups and downs in 2019 but still had his best season as a Cowboy as he piled up 79 receptions for a career-high 1189 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns. In 2020 he figures to be at the top of a Dallas depth chart that could feature the finest trio of wide receivers in the NFL, with young Michael Gallup and rookie CeeDee Lamb joining him on the field as weapons for Dak Prescott.

He's talked often with us about his passion for the game of chess, and the intellectual demands of it.

Watching this video, one can see the same process being applied to route-running ... with the goal being to be "three steps ahead.''