I have learned that the WR market (excluding the AJ Brown deal) is becoming similar to the running back market. Think about it. The Cardinals ended up cutting Hopkins. We traded Cooper away for a 5, but got Cooks for a 5 in a trade this year. OBJ ended up getting cut by the Browns. Plus, it makes sense. The draft usually has a lot of WRs. So, unless it's a top tier WR like AJ Brown or CeeDee Lamb where it's a player that would be incredibly hard to replace, I think it's more likely that WRs will become similar in market to RBs. Sure, they don't have the short shelf life that a RB does, but there are usually lots of WRs to choose in the draft. So, I could also see a scenario some time soon where WRs begin to not receive massive contracts (unless it's a rare WR) so that teams don't have to worry about cuts so much with them.
The shelf life of a running back is short than a receiver's. Just look at your comparisons: the receivers you highlighted (Cooper, Cooks, OBJ and DHop) were on their second teams (or, in the case of Cooks, his fourth team) before they were traded or let go. Their value was established in their first trade, and each fetched high draft picks.
There aren't that many high-draft-pick trades involving RBs who leave their first teams. Usually, when their first contract is up, they're allowed to test the free agent waters.
Also, this is a passing league, so sure-handed, route-running receivers are still going to be premium picks. For example, in this past draft 8 wide receivers went in the top 2 rounds compared to 3 running backs. In 2022, 13 receivers were chosen in the first two rounds compared to 3 running backs.
NFL teams are telling us which position they value more, and value translates to dollars.
