Amari Cooper Looking Forward to Healthy and Productive Sophomore Campaign
When Oakland Raiders’ sensational wide-receiver, Amari Cooper, speaks of a uninspiring rookie campaign, it’s not just hyperbole.
For most NFL receivers, making the Pro Bowl in their first-year and posting more than 1,000 receiving yards would definitely qualify as a great rookie campaign. But Amari Cooper isn’t like most young receivers.
When the former University of Alabama star critiques his rookie season he tends to get a bit somber. In Cooper’s first year he routinely demonstrated the elusiveness and blazing speed which separated him from other receivers in his draft class.
However, nagging injuries led to inconsistent production during the final few weeks of the season and took some of the shine off of a otherwise impressive rookie-year.
The fourth-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft was limited by a mid-November quadriceps injury and a foot injury he suffered in practice leading up to week 14. Those injuries severely limited Amari’s downfield production and negativity effected his overall play.
"“I think it affected everything. Me being a receiver, it affected my whole game,” Cooper explained in an interview with KGMZ of San Francisco. “Talk about a foot injury, you can’t release how you want to, you can’t come out of your breaks how you want to. “So it really affected my game, but I was mentally tough and I fought through it.”"
Cooper stayed mentally tough throughout the season but there is little doubt that the injuries affected his play and overall numbers. Injuries, and hitting the proverbial “rookie wall,” heavily contributed to Amari being held to under 20 receiving yards in three of the last four games of the season.
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Cooper was so disappointed by his late-season struggles he almost turned down the invitation to the Pro Bowl. In a recent interview with the Raiders ‘official website, Cooper explained his mental state after getting the Pro Bowl invite.
"“Yeah, I believe I shouldn’t have gone. I actually didn’t want to go. I wasn’t gonna go, but sometimes you have to take the good things in life. I think the trip to Hawaii was a great experience for me,” Cooper stated."
Cooper’s late season slump also contributed to Derek Carr’s slip in production down the stretch. Heading into week 12, Carr completion percentage stood at an impressive 63 percent. The young gunslinger was also totaling 7.66 yards per passing attempt. Carr’s completion rate plummeted to 56 percent while his yards-per-attempt fell to 5.6 yards in the last few weeks of the season, illustrating how essential a healthy Cooper is to a productive Raiders’ offense.
Not only can a healthy Cooper get past defenders on long “go routes,” he is a defensive backfield nightmare with the ball in his hands. Coopers’ ability to turn a quick hitch route into an 80-yard touchdown scamper gives the Raiders a weapon not seen in Silver and Black for a long time.
Expectations are high this year in Oakland. There is a “playoffs or bust” mentality permeating throughout the organization. The Raiders’ young leaders have unlimited potential and can lead the team back to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. But it’s going to take hard work and limited visits to the training room in order for Oakland to reserve a seat at the playoff table.