Cooper Seeks Counsel From Former All-Pro Lions WR, Raiders Guest

ALAMEDA -- Todd Downing and Calvin Johnson go way back. The Raiders offensive coordinator got to know the retired Detroit receiver during four seasons coaching Lions quarterbacks, a relationship benefitted current Silver and Black receivers this week.

Johnson is in Alameda as a special guest and advisor for the first week of Raiders OTAs, offering tips and tricks learned during an excellent career.

"(Downing) thought it'd be a great idea for our wide receivers to just pick his brain and have him be around and give us a point here or there," Del Rio said. "Talk about some of the things that he did so well in his career and how we might be able to have some of our guys learn from that. It's great to have him out here."

Amari Cooper gravitated towards Johnson, and has spent significant time picking his brain

"I've just been asking him a whole bunch of questions," Cooper said after Tuesday's OTA session. "How does he run certain routes? What was his regimen like? And how he was so productive? He's a really cool guy. He's been giving me some really great feedback, so he's nice to have around."

Johnson's a unique talent, a difficult cover at 6-foot-5, 236 pounds. Cooper operates in a smaller frame and has different receiving strengths, but still found wisdom in working with Megatron.

"He just gave me some really good tips on like how I can run some of my routes," Cooper said. "…he's a different receiver than I am, obviously. But I really admire the way he high-points the ball and that's something that I try to do as well."

Cooper does most everything well, and has had a productive start to his NFL career. He's just the third receiver in NFL history to exceed 70 receptions and 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons – Odell Beckham and Marques Colston are the others – and made the Pro Bowl after both campaigns.

He continues to tinker with his approach and offseason workouts, trying to finish seasons stronger and become an even more dynamic player. Cooper has no problem learning from others, especially the greats.

"I seek advice all the time," Cooper said. "My rookie year, when I was fortunate enough to go to the Pro Bowl, I asked Adrian Peterson like when did he start working out, how did he go about his offseason. And I tried to pattern after him a little bit."

Cooper is smarter and working better thanks to information absorbed from others, which he hopes will help him become a deadly weapon.

"I know he's just scratching the surface of what he wants to accomplish in this league," head coach Jack Del Rio said. "Very prideful. Amari has always been very serious about the game and works hard at everything, really. His conditioning level and understanding what he needs to be able to do to play at a high level. Again, talking and having a guy like Calvin here as we're getting started in these OTAs, to be able to share some of the insight of what he experienced playing that position is very valuable for us."

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