Raiders quarterback Derek Carr expected rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper to be good.
But after working with Cooper this spring, Carr says Cooper – the Raiders’ No. 1 pick in this spring’s draft and the fourth overall selection – could be an immediate star.
The former Alabama All-American has shown Carr that he has everything required to be an NFL playmaker.
Last season, Cooper set an SEC record with 124 catches.
“He (Cooper) is ridiculous in and out of his breaks,” Carr said in an interview on 95.7 The Game this week. “His style of play is perfect for this league. He’s good at getting on toes and creating separation. He’s good at when the ball is in his hands making those fast-twitch movements to make a guy go one way so he can take it to the house. It’s just little things that honestly people don’t even notice.”
Carr’s comments echo those of Nick Saban, Cooper’s head coach with the Crimson Tide. In assessing Cooper before the draft, Saban said Cooper is “difficult to cover coming out of a break” because of his speed and explosiveness. He also praised Cooper’s great hands, size and ability to stretch a field.
“He’s a pretty hard guy to stop unless you put two guys on him,” Saban told Chase Goodbread of NFL.com.
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Now, after working closely with Cooper, Carr is seeing things that only teammates and coaches will see. He says Cooper’s “work ethic is second to none,” citing several instances when the two have worked together on their own, so Cooper can get routes down correctly before the start of training camp in late July.
With a year of experience in the league now, big things are expected of Carr in 2015. But Carr also expects big things from his receiving corps, which will be led by Cooper, veteran free-agent signee Michael Crabtree and Rod Streater, back from an injury in 2014.
“I think the sky’s the limit for him, obviously,” Carr said of Cooper. “Hopefully, I just get the ball into his hands so he can make the plays.”
