Amari Cooper on the duel with Trevon Diggs: “That’s why I play the game”

The Cleveland Browns open the NFL season on Sunday with two former All-Americans from Alabama as wide receivers – one they traded for and the other they apparently tried to trade for.

On the other side of the line of Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy, Trevon Diggs, another former Alabama star, will try to stop the pass catchers as the Dallas Cowboys' cornerback.

Cooper and Diggs were not teammates at Alabama, but they were teammates with the Cowboys in 2020 and 2021.

“We have a good relationship,” Cooper said. “He's a great player. A very, very dynamic player. He has great ball skills. He has a great IQ for the position.”

“I'm looking forward to the challenge. That's why I play football. That's what I love most about the game – competing against the best and challenging yourself. That's why I fell in love with football. It's going to be a great duel for sure.”

Jeudy and Diggs were teammates for three seasons at Alabama.

“It's always fun to play against Diggs,” Jeudy said. “He's smart, has great ball skills and is very competitive. We've played against each other since college, so I know what he's good at and he knows what I'm good at. It's going to be fun. It's going to be an exciting duel.”

The Browns acquired Cooper in a trade with Dallas in 2022. He caught 150 passes for 2,410 yards and 14 touchdowns for Cleveland. However, offseason reports suggested the Browns were willing to trade Cooper to acquire disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk from the San Francisco 49ers.

“At the end of the day, it's neither here nor there,” Cooper said of the potential transfer. “I'm just focused on playing my best football in Week 1.”

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In Cleveland's season opener, the Browns' offense will debut with quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receivers Cooper, Jeudy and Elijah Moore.

“I don't have a crystal ball in front of me,” Cooper said, “but of course we are expected to go out there and execute the plays that are called for, to play our brand of football, to be absolutely focused and to do our best.”

Jeudy joined the Denver Broncos as part of an offseason transfer.

“I think this is the perfect place for me,” Jeudy said. “Just what offensive coordinator we got, what quarterback we have, and I think the guys we have here are going to make me a better player. …

“Hopefully everything goes as planned. I can't predict what will happen, but I will do my part.”

Since entering the NFL as the fourth pick in the 2015 draft, Cooper has caught 1,000 yards in seven seasons and made the Pro Bowl five times. Jeudy was the 15th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and averaged 763 yards in four seasons with the Broncos, peaking at 972 yards in 2022.

“I definitely had something to prove to myself,” Jeudy said. “My first few years didn't go quite as I had planned due to a lot of different situations and circumstances.”