Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Oakland Raiders (1st Round, 4th Pick)
It was highly anticipated that the Alabama product would be the first wide receiver to drop off of the 2015 NFL Draft board considering the spectacular college season he left behind. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, the Raiders definitely made sure of that, and wisely drafted Cooper to help fill gaping holes in their struggling receiver corps. If the Raiders has passed on Cooper, he would not have lasted more than a few more picks.
With that said, let’s review Cooper’s college career and what his future in the NFL and as a fantasy football prospect have in store.
College Career:
Stats: 228 Receptions, 3,463 Receiving Yards, and 31 Total Touchdowns
Cooper, nearly a Heisman trophy winner in 2014, received the third highest votes among his college peers. A couple of awards that Cooper can proudly own however, are the Fred Biletnikoff Award and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award.
Those awards did not just fall off of a tree. They were rightfully earned by Cooper who put up some ridiculous numbers in 2014 which consisted of 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns resulting from 124 receptions. Helping lead the Crimson Tides win 12 of 13 of their 2014 season games, the team unfortunately was defeated by Ohio State, 42-35 losing the Allstate Sugar Bowl once again. Cooper’s season-high performance from 2014 came from a late-season victory over Auburn 55-44 where he posted an unbelievable 224 yards and three touchdowns.
It is no wonder he departed Alabama as the top wide receiver prospect in this year’s draft.
Over the course of Cooper’s 2012-2013 seasons at Alabama, he totaled 1,736 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. The Crimson Tides won 24 of 26 regular season games during this spread of time, managing a victory over Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship in 2012 and their first loss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, 45-31 against Oklahoma.
It is has been several years since the Raiders have had such an exciting receiver prospect on board who is capable of short and major yardage touchdowns. Coming off an extremely amazing college year should have Cooper on fire and the Raiders equally thrilled to hit 2015 with full speed.
Competition:
The Raiders will not mess around when it comes to seasoning their new receiver to the team. Up until now, Oakland’s newly signed wide receiver is Michael Crabtree who has had his battles with injuries overall lack of success was their top option. Beyond Crabtree in depth is Rod Streater, Kenbrell Thompkins and Jeremy Gallon. If some of these names are barely ringing any bells that is because the Raiders desperately needed help in this department.
Streater played in only three games last year, totaling 84 yards and Thompkins was jettisoned over from New England last season where he managed only 209 yards in six game starts for Oakland. Cooper will not be on a bench and we will likely see him playing opposite Crabtree come opening game.
2015 Outlook:
Last year was the year of the fantasy rookie wide receiver. We saw four rookie wideouts rank in the top 25 receivers for 2015. Cooper could easily find himself ranking within the top 25 despite playing with a second-season quarterback Derek Carr who is still learning the ropes of the NFL himself.
In fact, the two will probably help each other this season as Cooper’s skills should give Carr a boost up the fantasy ladder.
As far as Cooper is concerned, if Mike Evans could put up 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns while playing under Josh McCown and Mike Glennon, then he should find success under a more stable quarterback.
Where should Cooper be drafted in fantasy football? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he makes a smart WR2/3 to target in the fourth to sixth round. We are not going to see 1,700-plus yards out of Cooper, but it would not be shocking for him to become the first Raiders’ receiver in ions to graze the 1,000-yard mark for 2015. If there are double-digit touchdowns in Cooper's future, then that will be icing on the cake.
Dynasty Outlook:
Draft Cooper with the utmost confidence in dynasty leagues. His first couple of seasons as a rookie could have him presenting some ups and downs. However, the star quality is there. With Carr under center, the Raiders finally have some hope. We should see the young duo improving as the NFL seasons progress on.
Providing Cooper knocks his socks off during his four-year rookie stint with the Raiders, he could be highly desired by many teams when it comes to a re-signing. Imagine him pairing up with a quarterback like Andrew Luck down the road. Cooper is definitely worth the investment and dynasty owners should begin reaping rewards sooner rather than later.