The extremely talented and always underrated Amari Cooper Thread

[WhatWouldDitkaDo]

I think Cooper is a fairly talented WR and that there's reason to be optimistic he can bounce back from this horrendous season, but I still don't think he's a "stud" WR prospect. My thinking is that Cooper would be a much better fit in the slot, and the best-case scenario would be a Golden Tate type of role where he can get in space over the middle of the field against slot CBs.

If OAK does cut Michael Crabtree though, I think Cooper's target share could be enormous in 2018, and there might be a ton of garbage time stats for him if they don't bolster that secondary. I could see a 2015 Allen Robinson kind of year, so I would buy Cooper this offseason if the price is palatable, but I would sell high on him as soon as his value got back to anywhere close to when he first entered the league. I'd buy Cooper if I can get him for 1.05/1.06 or later depending on how the NFL draft goes for some of the top 2018 rookie prospects.

[moishetreats]

Let's be honest: It's entirely an unknown.

Gruden's offenses in the past have been quite good and also quite ordinary. But, he hasn't had a young and talented QB like Carr AND a young and talented WR like Cooper in the past. And Gruden hasn't coached for a long time; what his offense will look like is nothing but speculation.

We do know that Gruden has high demands and expectations of his players, in terms of execution, fundamentals, and attitude. There's no reason to think that Cooper has a poor attitude (that's a bigger issue with Crabtree), but he has had some issues with fundamentals, of course. This could either be a godsend for Cooper, where he rises up to the demands, or a poor match.

Really, we just don't know. Definite reason for extreme optimism clouded with uncertainty.

Given the potential ceiling, I'd buy if he is being sold at WR2 prices or lower.

[moishetreats]

I did find this chart elsewhere, though. Looks like there might be reason for optimism with Cooper (though still a crapshoot in the end!):


GRUDEN'S LEADING WIDE RECEIVERS
1998 Tim Brown, Oak. 81 1,012 9
1999 Tim Brown, Oak. 90 1,344 6
2000 Tim Brown, Oak. 76 1,128 11
2001 Tim Brown, Oak. 91 1,165 10
2002 Key. Johnson, T.B. 76 1,088 5
2003 Kee. McCardell, T.B. 84 1,174 9
2004 Michael Clayton, T.B. 80 1,193 7
2005 Joey Galloway, T.B. 83 1,287 10
2006 Joey Galloway, T.B. 62 1,057 7
2007 Joey Galloway, T.B. 57 1,014 6
2008 Antonio Bryant, T.B. 83 1,248 7

[ericanadian]

I did find this chart elsewhere, though. Looks like there might be reason for optimism with Cooper (though still a crapshoot in the end!):


GRUDEN'S LEADING WIDE RECEIVERS
1998 Tim Brown, Oak. 81 1,012 9
1999 Tim Brown, Oak. 90 1,344 6
2000 Tim Brown, Oak. 76 1,128 11
2001 Tim Brown, Oak. 91 1,165 10
2002 Key. Johnson, T.B. 76 1,088 5
2003 Kee. McCardell, T.B. 84 1,174 9
2004 Michael Clayton, T.B. 80 1,193 7
2005 Joey Galloway, T.B. 83 1,287 10
2006 Joey Galloway, T.B. 62 1,057 7
2007 Joey Galloway, T.B. 57 1,014 6
2008 Antonio Bryant, T.B. 83 1,248 7

Clayton is the only young guy among that list and he was a one year wonder. Not sure that's great news for Cooper. Might be good news for whichever vet Gruden brings in to play opposite Cooper.

[Phaded]

I did find this chart elsewhere, though. Looks like there might be reason for optimism with Cooper (though still a crapshoot in the end!):


GRUDEN'S LEADING WIDE RECEIVERS
1998 Tim Brown, Oak. 81 1,012 9
1999 Tim Brown, Oak. 90 1,344 6
2000 Tim Brown, Oak. 76 1,128 11
2001 Tim Brown, Oak. 91 1,165 10
2002 Key. Johnson, T.B. 76 1,088 5
2003 Kee. McCardell, T.B. 84 1,174 9
2004 Michael Clayton, T.B. 80 1,193 7
2005 Joey Galloway, T.B. 83 1,287 10
2006 Joey Galloway, T.B. 62 1,057 7
2007 Joey Galloway, T.B. 57 1,014 6
2008 Antonio Bryant, T.B. 83 1,248 7

Clayton is the only young guy among that list and he was a one year wonder. Not sure that's great news for Cooper. Might be good news for whichever vet Gruden brings in to play opposite Cooper.

Exactly my thoughts..
With them reportedly ready to release Crab there is no chance we go in with Roberts or Patterson opposite of Cooper.

[ArrylT]

Tom Cable has rejoined the Raiders.

[ArrylT]

Edgar Bennett - former G.B. WR Coach and OC is now the Raiders WR Coach.

[TommyL31]

How much would a Devin Funchess owner have to add to convince you to part with Cooper?

Would Funchess plus Lamar Miller work?
Funchess plus Duke Johnson?

[kris_kapsner]

I'm predicting Cooper snags 80+ catches for 1,100+ yards and 10 TD's.

Gruden may not be a great head coach. But, he does like younger guys and he enjoys pushing them to get the most out of them. Cooper has dynasty #1 kind of talent. So, it would surprise me if he isn't a top 10 WR next year.

[Phaded]

How much would a Devin Funchess owner have to add to convince you to part with Cooper?

Would Funchess plus Lamar Miller work?
Funchess plus Duke Johnson?

It really depends how an owner feels about Funchess.
I do not own Cooper but I also have no interest in a guy like Funchess.

[Ghosted]

How much would a Devin Funchess owner have to add to convince you to part with Cooper?

Would Funchess plus Lamar Miller work?
Funchess plus Duke Johnson?

Not full-on projectile vomit worthy, but definitely made me dry-heave.

[Phaded]

So with this season being a write off, people are in one of three camps:
a) This was an "off year" for Cooper (but it really started halfway through 2016) and he will bounce back
b) Cooper has shown his true colours and is just not the elite guy some thought he could be
c) Do not really know what to think

I have watched basically every snap Cooper played this season.

I am somewhere in between B & C. I do not think he will ever be an elite top-end WR. I think he could come back and have some WR2 value in fantasy with the occasional boom week under Gruden.. IF..

a) The offense line gets it together and holds up protection longer
b) Carr plays better (although to his credit, he had broken bones in his back and rushed back - which was a mistake)

and maybe.. most importantly..

c) Cooper is primarily used out of the slot

Of course some will point to his size and that he does not profile like many slot receivers; he profiles more like an outside receiver. Which I agree - his profile does kind of suggest that; however he does not PLAY like an outside receiver, he plays far too soft.

Cooper has a lot of success playing out of the slot; where he has a lot of the field to work with and you do not regularly face the top corners or even the most physical corners.

I decided to do a google search to see if anyone else has caught onto this; after all - I'm not some professional analyst or not even close, I'm just a guy and this is just my opinion.. BUT.. I was not too surprised to find that PFF basically suggested this exact thing.

In fact; PFF has stated that Cooper is the 4th most efficient receiver running out of the slot since 2006. In fact, he was the most efficient receiver out of the slot in the last two years.



Just something to think about - I think Cooper's future success will literally be predicated on if the coaching staff is smart enough to transition him to the slot. That is something I am skeptical of however, especially with the other options that the Raiders have.

[ArrylT]

It is obvious to many of us that you have phaded Cooper down your rankings.

[StableOfRBs]

So with this season being a write off, people are in one of three camps:
a) This was an "off year" for Cooper (but it really started halfway through 2016) and he will bounce back
b) Cooper has shown his true colours and is just not the elite guy some thought he could be
c) Do not really know what to think

I have watched basically every snap Cooper played this season.

I am somewhere in between B & C. I do not think he will ever be an elite top-end WR. I think he could come back and have some WR2 value in fantasy with the occasional boom week under Gruden.. IF..

a) The offense line gets it together and holds up protection longer
b) Carr plays better (although to his credit, he had broken bones in his back and rushed back - which was a mistake)

and maybe.. most importantly..

c) Cooper is primarily used out of the slot

Of course some will point to his size and that he does not profile like many slot receivers; he profiles more like an outside receiver. Which I agree - his profile does kind of suggest that; however he does not PLAY like an outside receiver, he plays far too soft.

Cooper has a lot of success playing out of the slot; where he has a lot of the field to work with and you do not regularly face the top corners or even the most physical corners.

I decided to do a google search to see if anyone else has caught onto this; after all - I'm not some professional analyst or not even close, I'm just a guy and this is just my opinion.. BUT.. I was not too surprised to find that PFF basically suggested this exact thing.

In fact; PFF has stated that Cooper is the 4th most efficient receiver running out of the slot since 2006. In fact, he was the most efficient receiver out of the slot in the last two years.



Just something to think about - I think Cooper's future success will literally be predicated on if the coaching staff is smart enough to transition him to the slot. That is something I am skeptical of however, especially with the other options that the Raiders have.

Honestly I think it's closer to A&C than B&C. Because of the 2014 WR class a lot of people have been spoiled on getting immediate production out of receivers when typically it takes several years for them to get used to the NFL, doubly so for a guy as young as Cooper (turns 24 3 months before next season starts) and I think he still has time to develop and refine his craft. If we were to look at this year and say that this is just who Cooper is now then we're possibly falling into the same trap that people ran into with Hopkins this past offseason.

Yes it's true that Amari is incredibly efficient from the slot, that doesn't mean I think he should make a full time switch to the slot guy. Cooper ran roughly 478 routes this year with about 59 coming from the slot for 12.4%. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing that bumped up to 20-25% next year because I think the Raiders would do well to move him around to create mismatches against opposing defenses.

That being said, Cooper is very much still a big-play outside type of receiver. Since he was drafted in 2015 he is tied with Brandin Cooks and OBJ for 30+ yard TD receptions with 11, guys like TY Hilton, Ted Ginn, and Tyreek Hill are right behind, tied with 10 a piece. That kind of consistent deep threat is hard to come by, even guys like Julio, AJ Green and AB arent even near those totals with 5, 6, and 6 respectively. Now I'm not saying that Cooper is more talented than Julio or AJ or AB or OBJ or whoever, but it's much harder to find a guy with his big play ability than it is to find a guy who can be efficient from the slot. I can agree that maybe he does play "soft" sometimes, and he has the contested catch rate to show for it (although he hardly ever has any contested targets so it's a small sample size) but I think he'll toughen up as he gets experience in the league. Also, as "soft" as he plays he also averages 2.6 yards of separation when targeted and was at 2.71 last year, 4th most in the NFL among #1 WRs.

Again, I'd love to see the Raiders move him around more and increase his slot share and find ways to scheme him open more consistently with mismatches and such. I still think he's primarily an outside guy with big play upside. As for how he'll be as a fantasy asset I still think he can be a true WR1, the main difference between him and other WR1s over the past couple years, including this one, has been targets. If Oakland commits to using him on a more consistent basis and giving him a proper target share (he was targeted as often as Mo Sanu and Marqise Lee this year) then I think he could flirt with low-mid WR1 numbers with a high WR2 floor. The fact that he can be such a solid deep threat and, as you said, the most efficient slot WR over the past two years, just proves to me that he has legit top-end talent and can be a true #1 in the league.

[kris_kapsner]

I’m looking forward to seeing what the new coaching staff can do with Cooper.

My prediction is that he bounces back strong to finish as a top 10 WR next season.