Here we all were, waiting for the Denzel Boston breakout week against the Ravens’ coverage schemes, and, right underneath our noses, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie WR Germie Bernard and New York Jets rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. were set up for breakouts on which they made good. They are, in my opinion, battling for the top skill-position waiver option this week, though Bernard is likely owned in many deeper, sharper leagues. Wouldn’t be surprised if Cooper is, as well. But both are out there, surely, in plenty of leagues, and fantasy managers are going to be standing at a fork before waivers pass.
Below, I break down what made Bernard’s and Cooper Jr.’s breakouts as electric as they seemed on tape yesterday, and which receiver I’m backing to have the better rest-of-season fantasy line.
Germie Bernard and Omar Cooper Jr.’s fantasy outlooks
After drawing nine targets against Indianapolis, Bernard caught eleven of twelve targets for 87 yards and the winning touchdown at Tampa Bay. JJ Zachariason charted an 85% route share and 27% target share Sunday, substantial involvement alongside DK Metcalf’s eleven catches. An infuriating retreat behind the sticks cost Bernard a fourth-down conversion; later, with the first-half clock dwindling, he got down promptly and hustled the ball back for a spike. Rodgers continued finding him, then praised a rookie whose confidence was beginning to match his potential.
Rodgers threw 49 times during a comeback that required overtime, during which Bernard scored the (pictured above) game-winning touchdown. Eleven catches would be an extravagant weekly expectation. The catches underneath are the attraction, and with Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson on injured reserve, Bernard should continue starting alongside Metcalf for several more games. I’d use him as a WR3/FLEX against New Orleans in Paris.
Cooper, though, returned from a four-game ankle absence with one NFL route behind him and promptly ripped New England for six catches, 103 yards and a touchdown. On his 48-yard score, he threatened the corner before crossing a safety’s face, punishing the attention Garrett Wilson’s deep out attracted. Wilson finally has some dangerous company. Tim Patrick’s interference penalty erased another touchdown, so Geno Smith sought Cooper near the goal line as well as downfield.
Cooper led the Jets with a 24% target share and recorded a 79% route share in Zachariason’s tracking. I’d consider him for a FLEX start against Miami and roster him over a touchdown-dependent reserve. Adonai Mitchell remains week-to-week after hand surgery, however, and his eventual return adds a receiver who drew fifteen targets across the first two games. If Cooper sustains this target share alongside a healthy Mitchell, his downfield work could reverse my order. Through the coming byes, though, Bernard offers the steadier PPR start and several weeks to turn Rodgers’s growing trust into a lasting place in this offense.
Bottom line
Cooper is a fantastic add, and I’d bid 10–15% of my original FAAB budget for him in a 12-team PPR league. The Jets have already shown how he can punish defenses that lean toward Garrett Wilson; even with Adonai Mitchell’s eventual return complicating his opportunities, Cooper’s explosive introduction makes him a receiver worth acquiring now, especially with the Dolphins in Week 7.
Bernard gets my larger bid: 15–20%, leaning toward the upper end if he goes straight into my lineup. Rodgers continued finding him after that maddening fourth-down mistake, then publicly endorsed his development: “There comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential. And I think we’re reaching that time with Germie.”
With Pittsburgh’s injured receivers absent for several more games, Bernard has time to turn that endorsement into a lasting role. I’ll pay the premium for the receiver Rodgers is already trusting when the offense desperately needs a completion.
