The Buffalo Bills will face the Denver Broncos on Wild Card Weekend. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Amari Cooper.
Is Amari Cooper Playing vs. the Broncos?
Cooper is listed on the injury report but has been fully participating all week. Barring any last-minute setbacks, he is expected to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Amari Cooper on Wild Card Weekend?
Cooper was heavily used in the shootout loss to the Rams but has largely been underwhelming since coming to Upstate New York (37.1 receiving yards per game).
His 14.4-yard aDOT with the Bills creates a path to the upside against a stingy Broncos defense, but if Denver elects to stick Patrick Surtain II on him and make other receivers beat them, this could be another disappointing performance.
It was Tee Higgins, not Ja’Marr Chase, who led Cincinnati receivers in fantasy points against Denver. It was Tyler Lockett, not DK Metcalf. It was Chris Godwin, not Mike Evans.
I still have Cooper ranked the highest of the Buffalo WRs, but not by much — this is an interesting spot for Keon Coleman, and if Denver gives him single coverage, this could be another situation where the secondary receiver puts up primary production.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Wild Card Weekend Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Amari Cooper’s Fantasy Points Projection on Wild Card Weekend
As of Sunday, Cooper is projected to score 10.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.5 receptions for 49.7 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Broncos' Defense
The Denver Broncos finished with a 90.9 (A-) overall grade, making them the only team this season to crack the A-grade range.
The issue with Week 18 is that it can produce some skewed results, so Denver dominating the JV Kansas City Chiefs grades out extremely well and boosts their overall season-long number. Nevertheless, the Broncos also led in Defense+ virtually the entire season, making them a worthy top finisher.
Denver ended up ranking first in EPA per dropback and first in EPA per rush on defense, making this one of the more well-rounded units in recent memory. And although this team blitzed at the third-highest rate of any defense, they also generated the second-highest pressure rate without blitzing.
The Broncos were ahead of schedule in 2024, a welcome surprise season for a team that had missed the playoffs eight straight seasons. Now that the drought is over, Denver can look to building a Super Bowl contender behind Bo Nix and this elite unit.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Amari Cooper’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday, January 12. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Wild Card Superflex Rankings.
Wild Card WR PPR Rankings
1) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at LAR)
2) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. MIN)
3) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. GB)
4) Nico Collins | HOU (vs. LAC)
5) Mike Evans | TB (vs. WAS)
6) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at HOU)
7) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at TB)
8) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at BUF)
9) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. GB)
10) Jordan Addison | MIN (at LAR)
11) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. MIN)
12) George Pickens | PIT (at BAL)
13) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. WAS)
14) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. DEN)
15) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at HOU)
16) Jayden Reed | GB (at PHI)
17) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (at BUF)
18) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. PIT)
19) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. DEN)
20) Romeo Doubs | GB (at PHI)
21) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at TB)
22) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. DEN)
23) Calvin Austin III | PIT (at BAL)
24) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (at PHI)
25) John Metchie III | HOU (vs. LAC)
26) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at LAR)
27) Devaughn Vele | DEN (at BUF)
28) Dyami Brown | WAS (at TB)
29) Sterling Shepard | TB (vs. WAS)
30) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. DEN)
31) Mike Williams | PIT (at BAL)
32) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. MIN)
33) Diontae Johnson | HOU (vs. LAC)
34) Nelson Agholor | BAL (vs. PIT)
35) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. MIN)
36) DJ Chark | LAC (at HOU)
37) Van Jefferson | PIT (at BAL)
38) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at TB)
39) Troy Franklin | DEN (at BUF)
40) Robert Woods | HOU (vs. LAC)
41) Malik Heath | GB (at PHI)
42) Curtis Samuel | BUF (vs. DEN)
43) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (vs. LAC)
44) Bo Melton | GB (at PHI)
45) Jordan Whittington | LAR (vs. MIN)
46) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. PIT)
47) Derius Davis | LAC (at HOU)
48) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. GB)
49) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (at BUF)
50) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at TB)
51) Tyler Johnson | LAR (vs. MIN)
52) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. WAS)
53) Devontez Walker | BAL (vs. PIT)
54) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. WAS)
55) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. GB)
56) Rakim Jarrett | TB (vs. WAS)
57) Brandon Powell | MIN (at LAR)
58) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. GB)
59) Anthony Miller | BAL (vs. PIT)
60) Christian Watson | GB (at PHI)
61) Tyrell Shavers | BUF (vs. DEN)
62) Roman Wilson | PIT (at BAL)
63) K.J. Osborn | BUF (vs. DEN)
64) Dennis Houston | TB (vs. WAS)
65) Dayton Wade | BAL (vs. PIT)
66) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. GB)
67) Dez Fitzpatrick | LAC (at HOU)
68) David Sills V | DEN (at BUF)
69) Cody Thompson | TB (vs. WAS)
70) Brycen Tremayne | WAS (at TB)
71) Cornelius Johnson | GB (at PHI)
72) Kazmeir Allen | WAS (at TB)
73) Lucky Jackson | MIN (at LAR)
74) Drake Stoops | LAR (vs. MIN)
75) Danny Gray | PHI (vs. GB)
76) Xavier Smith | LAR (vs. MIN)
Broncos at Bills Trends and Insights
Denver Broncos
Team: Bo Nix got this team to 10 wins. Their last double-digit win season came in 2015, a season that ended with a Super Bowl.
QB: Bo Nix made NFL history as the first QB with 3+ TD passes and 75% complete in four games as a rookie. He also matched the franchise record for such games in a season (Peyton Manning had four such games in both 2012 and 2013).
Offense: Since Week 11, the Broncos have been the third-highest scoring team in the league (32.6 PPG).
Defense: The Broncos beat the Chiefs on Sunday, their first win this season in a game in which they didn’t force a turnover (lost the previous four).
Fantasy: Courtland Sutton has scored 18 times on 225 targets over the past two seasons (two seasons prior: four touchdowns on 207 targets).
Betting: Over the past two months, the Broncos have two losses on normal-to-extended rest – an overtime loss to Joe Burrow and a two-point loss to Patrick Mahomes (GW 35-yard FGA was blocked at the buzzer).
Buffalo Bills
Team: The Bills have made the postseason in seven of eight seasons under Sean McDermott (he was hired with the franchise on a 17-year playoff drought).
QB: This is the sixth straight season in which Josh Allen is playing on Wild Card Weekend – he’s completed at least 70% of his passes in three of his past four, with multiple TD tosses in each of those contests (one touchdown pass for every 13.5 attempts across those four contests).
Offense: The first 30-30 team in NFL history (passing and rushing touchdowns). Balance is good until it’s not – only twice in NFL history has a team with 30+ rush TDs won their conference (2022 Eagles and 1983 Commanders).
Defense: Excluding Week 18, when most of the starters were very limited, if not out altogether, the Buffalo defensive trends on third down are concerning.
- Weeks 6-13: 36.5%
- Weeks 14-17: 57.1% converted
Fantasy: Remove the outlier shootout game against the Rams in Week 14 and Amari Cooper has been targeted on just 15.4% of his routes as a member of the Bills (Weeks 1-6 with Cleveland: 22.8%).
Betting: The Bills went 5-3 ATS at home with overs going 6-2, a change of pace from their 4-5 ATS mark and 3-6 overs record a season ago.