By the Numbers: Has Nick Foles made Riley Cooper a useful number 2 WR?

The Eagles have gone through a musical chairs-like transition with quarterbacks throughout the season. Philadelphia has seen three different quarterbacks under center in 2013 and it has impacted the value of the talent (or lack thereof) around them. One such player is wide receiver Riley Cooper.

Prior to Week 6, BGN conducted a study regarding Cooper's ineptness as a number two wide receiver in the Eagles offense. At the time, Cooper ranked 31st out of 32 pass catchers in both receptions and receiving yards. Remember, this was prior to the game against the Buccaneers that saw Nick Foles make his first start of the season. With Michael Vick, Cooper's inability to separate kept the dual-threat passer away from him. However, with Foles as a starter, Cooper has gone over 88 receiving yards in all three starts.

In fact, with Foles, Cooper has become a legitimate starter. The second-year quarterback's ability to throw-open his wide receivers and make anticipation throws, has allowed Cooper to excel. This is not all on Foles of course, as Cooper has shown off his speed on screens and post routes, while also getting open in tight spaces like the redzone. He has been a scoring threat during Foles' tenure, as Cooper scored four touchdowns off of his passes. Granted, this is all a small sample size.

Since it have been four games since the last study, we have restarted the research to see how Cooper's production has changed with Foles starting three of the four contests. The criteria for the study is that players must have at least five games worth of work or more than 25 catches. Due to these standards, you will notice that some of the number two wide receivers have changed due to injuries.

Changes are: Kris Durham for Nate Burleson, Cecil Shorts for Ace Saunders (Shorts became the number two with Blackmon in the lineup) and Terrence Williams for Miles Austin.

As you can see, Cooper ranks 10th among number two wide receivers in yards on only 25 catches (18.1 YPC) and is in a three-way tie for second place in touchdowns scored (5). Those yards and scores are clearly impressive when considering the past study.

Are you impressed/unimpressed by Cooper's production with Foles? Is Cooper worthy of sticking around (even if he is not a starter) beyond this season?

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