DALLAS - Dallas Cowboys icon Michael Irvin knows first-hand what a top-grade wide receiver can do for an offense; he was exactly that on his way to three Super Bowl titles and the Hall of Fame.

He also knows what a top-grade wide receiver can mean to today's Cowboys offense. And that's why, as he explains to me, Irvin is believing his "Five Eyes'' when it comes to endorsing the idea of making sure Amari Cooper is retained.

"I was there,'' Irvin said, reflecting back on the first half of the 2018 season before Cooper was acquired via a trade with the Raiders. "I put all five of my 'Eyes/I's' on it - the two in my head and the three in my name. All five 'eyes' saw them when Amari was not here. ....

"So whatever you do ... you don't want to go back (to that).''

The NFL franchise tag can keep Cooper here, even without a contract. And Cooper, for what it's worth, has reiterated his commitment to being a 'Cowboy for Life.'

"I love being a Dallas Cowboy,'' Cooper told 105.3 The Fan last week. "I love everything about it. I think about it every day. Just the aura of being a Dallas Cowboy, you can't beat it. I want to be a Cowboy for life."

In 2019, Cooper led the Cowboys in catches (79), receiving yards (1,189), and touchdowns (eight) and continued his streak of being a perennial Pro Bowler. But his performance was "streaky,'' too - which has caused some inside The Star to second-guess the team's plan to pay him like a "top-five receiver.''

But Irvin, while acknowledging to me that judging Cooper's value is "tricky,'' is convinced. The first half-season of 2018 convinced Irvin Dallas can't do it without Cooper. The time since then has convinced Irvin of how much the Cowboys are capable of with Cooper.

"Why give Dak $40 million,'' Irvin says, "and then give him no one to throw to?''