For three games, Amari Cooper was relatively quiet.
The Raiders’ second-year wide receiver had just 14 catches combined against the Falcons, Titans and Ravens with zero touchdowns – and a few costly drops.
But in Oakland’s victory over the Chargers on Oct. 9 and a loss to the Chiefs this past Sunday, Cooper was the favorite target of quarterback Derek Carr. Against San Diego he had his first TD catch of the season, as well as a crucial two-point conversion catch, and had six receptions for 138 yards. That’s 23 yards per catch. Against the Chiefs he had a career-high 10 catches for 129 yards.
Cooper now ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (585) and yards per game (97.5). He ranks seventh in catches (36).
Cooper says he’s worked extra hard in practice recently to avoid drops and also get his feet in bounds on sideline and end-zone receptions. Carr says all that work and attention to detail is paying off.
“It just happened that for whatever reason he’s making these crazy plays in practice and it’s happening in the games,” Carr told reporters this week. “You can also tell – we talk about the sideline deal – he worked extremely hard at that and then you see him make two, three, four catches on the sideline over and over again, keeping those feet in, dragging the foot and all those things.
“When you get into that second year, things just start clicking. … I think he’s figuring it out.”
Raiders
As a rookie in 2015, Cooper had 72 catches for 1,070 yards. This season he’s on pace for 96 catches and 1,560 yards.
Cooper’s commitment to get better isn’t surprising to head coach Jack Del Rio.
“He’s very prideful and wants to be a great player in the league,” Del Rio said this week.
This Sunday, the 4-2 Raiders go into Jacksonville to take on the 2-3 Jaguars. Jacksonville’s secondary will be tested by the Raiders’ pair of outstanding wideouts. If the Jags focus too much on stopping Cooper, Carr will go to Michael Crabtree, who has 31 catches for 365 yards and five TDs.
Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 10 a.m. in the Bay Area.
