Browns fans will be saying "Coooop" when Amari Cooper makes plays |Jeff Schudel

Sep. 10—Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. loved the flash and glamor of being wide receivers when they were with the Browns. Former general manager John Dorsey traded for each player, Landry in 2018 and Beckham in 2019, not only because both were adept at catching footballs but also because both had pizzazz and bravado that Dorsey thought would boost the offense.

Amari Cooper is not into bling. But when the Browns step onto the field at Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 11 to open the 2022 season, the soft-spoken Cooper will get all the attention Landry and Beckham received individually and then some because no other pass catcher on the roster has Cooper's credentials, including tight end David Njoku.

"I feel like that's earned," Cooper said before a recent practice. "You get out there and you put your skills on display and teams will start to feel like they're not comfortable with just one guy covering you. So I'm definitely looking forward to earning that respect, and it's earned yearly.

"So to answer your question, yeah, I expect it, because I expect to do some great things."

The Browns acquired Cooper from the Cowboys in March for the bargain price of a fifth-round draft pick in 2022. The teams also swapped sixth-round picks.

Why would the Cowboys give away such a talented player? Cooper had 1,189 receiving yards and eight touchdowns with the Cowboys in 2019 He had 1,114 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2020.

Cooper signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Cowboys in 2020. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thought he got his money's worth from Cooper in 2020, but did not feel the same after Cooper's production dropped to 68 catches for 865 yards, albeit with eight touchdown catches, in 2021.

Jones did not want to be on the hook for another $60 million owed Cooper. So the Browns were able to get him at a bargain price.

"We made the decision that that allocation could be better spent," Jones told reporters covering the Cowboys.

Now Cooper has become the player the Browns receivers lean on. He is also quarterback Jacoby Brissett's go-to guy in more ways than just as a target for Brissett's passes.

"We probably do more off the field than we do on the field that you guys see just to make sure we're ready for Sunday," Cooper said. "We communicate a lot. He's very easy to talk to. I noticed that when we communicate about something we go out there on the field and we get it right asap."

Cooper, a first-round draft choice (fourth overall) by the Oakland Raiders in 2015, needs four touchdown catches to reach 50 for his career, 83 catches to reach 600 receptions and 924 receiving yards to reach 8,000 for his career.