🏈 Amari Cooper still top WR on NFL Draft boards

[Bamabww]

April 27, 2015

Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer

Amari Cooper is in a comfortable position heading into this week's NFL Draft, which begins with the first round on Thursday evening. So serene, in fact, that the former University of Alabama wide receiver sees no need in disrupting his ease by attending the draft in Chicago.

Cooper, who is widely projected as the top wide receiver in draft, only challenged in some minds by West Virginia's Kevin White, will not attend the draft, according to SI.com. That's no surprise to those who've followed Cooper's three-year Crimson Tide career. Cooper never enjoyed being in front of the cameras or microphones, although he stepped forward into that role as an offensive leader in 2014.

The 6-foot-1 dynamic receiver is projected by most draft analysts going with the No. 4 pick to the Oakland Raiders, although as of late the Jacksonville Jaguars have shown interest in possibly selecting Cooper with the No. 3 pick.

The last Alabama wide receiver drafted in the first round was Julio Jones, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons.

Some analysts, including the NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah and Mike Mayock, have White rated narrowly ahead of Cooper, but the majority have Cooper as the top receiver.

"In terms of Cooper and White, I'm still going with Cooper," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said during a recent conference call. "I've been consistently with Amari Cooper all along. I still have Cooper as the higher rated player.

"It doesn't mean Kevin White won't be a great player. I do think Cooper has a better chance to come in right away because he's a great route runner, he has three years of productivity, so I would give Cooper the edge to help out right away. But I think White's going to have a great career, and I think (Louisville's) DeVante Parker is going to have a really good career."

Cooper won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver during a junior season in which he recorded 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns on 124 receptions. During his three-year career he amassed 228 catches, 3,463 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Kiper said you can't go wrong with Cooper or White.

"You don't have to love one and not like the other," he said. "Love them both. It's just that I would separate the two by, Cooper's had three years of production, not one like Kevin White. His workout was really good. In fact, he's only four pounds lighter and one inch shorter, and he has bigger hands and a better 3-cone [drill] and a better short shuttle.

"He's not only quick. He's fast. A lot of guys are fast not quick or quick not fast. He's both, and he's probably the hardest working player in this draft. That's why I would give Cooper the edge.



- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1761393#sthash.3UREdQnr.dpuf

 

[sean]

Going strictly by the numbers, I would have to pick Cooper as well.

AMARI COOPER

YEAR: 2014
REC: 124
YDS: 1727
AVG: 13.9
LNG: 80
TD: 16


KEVIN WHITE

YEAR: 2014
REC: 109
YDS: 1447
AVG: 13.3
LNG: 68
TD: 10

Both receivers averaged over 10 yards per catch in their final college season. With only .6/yard separating them in that regard, I'd call that one a wash. But the others are where Cooper shined. He had more receptions, more yards, more touchdowns and more yards versus their longest receptions.

Some might argue that Cooper's numbers are better because he played in more games (just 1 more, by the way) in his final season than did White. So let's take a look at Cooper's numbers after taking away that extra game. And the game we'll take away is the SEC Championship Game since that's the extra game that Cooper had that White didn't (they both played 12 regular season games and both played in a bowl game).

Adjusting for that extra game by taking away those numbers, Cooper still comes out on top in terms of sheer numbers.

REC: 112 (He had 12 catches in the SECCG)
YDS: 1644 (He had 83 yards in the SECCG)
AVG: 14.43 (He had an average of 6.9 yards per catch in the SECCG)
TD: 16 (He didn't have any touchdowns in the SECCG)

Both receivers had 5 games with at least 10 catches. Cooper had 8 games with 100+ yards receiving while White had 9. Cooper had 3 games with 200+ yards receiving while White had 1.

All of these numbers may seem like they are close together in terms of actual value, and they are. But it's the intangibles that a lot of NFL coaches and managers look for in players at high-profile positions (receiver, quarterback, running back, etc.) And Cooper has shown many times that he has those qualities that are wanted and needed by just about every team in the NFL.

Much has been made of the overlay in the 40-yard dash at the combine between these 2 athletes. And while there was some discrepancy as to who was the faster runner, in the end it was Cooper who had the better time. Many analysts noted that Cooper was a bit behind at the start but at the 10 yard mark he "hit a second gear" and had more top-end speed. And while he was behind initially, no one at the combine or at any camp or even during a game would call Cooper slow. Add to that the ability to have that top-end speed and you have a VERY versatile receiver that can be a threat on just about any play and one whom will you have to account for every time he's on the field.

And while any NFL team would be lucky to have either of these 2 receivers, I'd still go with Cooper given everything between the two.