Throwing (to) Copper?

by Christopher Gates on Mar 7, 2007 5:24 PM CST in News

Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com recently put out an article about the most interesting Restricted Free Agents available for teams to sign.

As we all know, restricted free agents can be tendered at various levels, and if a team signs a RFA to an offer sheet, the losing team gets some form of compensation depending on what level that player was tendered at. The lowest possible tender gives the losing team a draft pick comparable to the level that the player was originally drafted in. For example, if a team signed Darrion Scott to an offer sheet and the Vikings chose not to match the deal, whoever signed him would have to surrender their third-round pick to Minnesota, because that's where Scott was originally drafted.

One name, in particular, on this list catches my eye:

WR Terrance Copper, New Orleans (compensation: none): A do-it-all player who excels on special teams and is a better wide receiver than people think. Coach Sean Payton demonstrated a lot of faith in him last season, especially when Joe Horn was injured. Copper made a lot of big plays for the Saints, catching 23 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns. He can also return kicks and will play on the coverage units. The kind of solid, serviceable role player every team needs to have around.

See that part in bold there? That's important. Copper was an undrafted free agent, and as the Saints tendered him at the lowest possible level, they'll get no compensation from any team that signs him to a deal.

Copper is a three-year NFL vet. He spent the first two years of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before moving on to New Orleans this off-season. He's played 41 career games, mainly on special teams, but stepped in ably for the Saints after Joe Horn went down with an injury.

In those 41 games, he has 31 catches for 474 yards and 3 TDs. 23 of those catches, 385 of those yards, and 3 of those TDs came in 2006. He's got decent size (6', 205#), and seems to fit the mold of a possession-type of receiver, which the Vikings could surely use.

In my opinion, the Vikings REALLY need to take a look at this guy. We need as many WRs as we can get our hands on, and getting a guy with Copper's potential without having to give up compensation would be very good for us.

(Not that anyone from the Vikings reads this site, but I'm humoring myself here.)

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Copper

As you know, I'm a Dallas fan. Copper has great speed (ran a 4.35 time in his college workouts) and suspect hands. He doesn't drop passes ala Terrell did this year, but he's one of those players who will make some good catches and then make some head-scratching drops. He's a mediocre returner, but is good in special teams coverage tracking down punt returners. Probably suited to be a #3 WR in this league and stretching it at #2. But he's a solid player, a solid kid and can go deep (and probably won't cost much to acquire).

YAKUZA

by Yakuza Rich on Mar 7, 2007 6:05 PM CST reply actions

Thanks, Rich

I'll be the first to admit I haven't seen Copper play that much, so I wasn't entirely sure if he was a "speed" guy or a "possession" guy.

All I know for sure is that he, from what I HAVE seen of him, appears to be a young, talented WR. . .something that's in very short supply in Minnesota.

The Daily Norseman - With 100% less Chad than the rest of SBNation!

by Christopher Gates on Mar 7, 2007 6:34 PM CST up reply actions