OTA sessions have been over for two weeks, but the Cooper hype is in mid-season form. The Raiders first-round pick received his most recent praise from CBS Sports’ Rob Rang, who says Cooper has been “indefensible” in Raiders’ OTA sessions despite taking throws from backup quarterbacks. Rang called Cooper a favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and a “virtual lock” to lead the Raiders in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
Along with Khalil Mack, Cooper has been the worst-kept secret in Raiders’ camp. The “unbelievable separation” he’s been getting in practice isn’t impressing only the coaches – his position group is noticing, too. At least one rookie wide receiver on the roster was said to be “in awe” of Cooper in OTAs.
Of course, Cooper is no stranger to hype and he certainly lived up to his hype in college. His 124 receptions, 1,727 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns as a junior were all University of Alabama records. In fact, if he had only played his junior year, his receptions (6th), receiving yards (8th), and touchdowns (4th) were all top-10 career records at Alabama.
The Raiders haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Randy Moss in 2005. A decade later, will Cooper be the one to finally break through? Rookie or not, seems like a pretty good bet.