Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper appeared on 95.7 The Game recently to address the expectations going into 2016. The Alabama-product came into the league with a lot of buzz, and after a year where he produced six touchdowns and 1,070 receiving yards, along with a trip to the Pro Bowl, he's comfortable going into his second year.
Here are the quick hits from his time on air:
With a year of experience under his belt, the wide out is comfortable going into his sophomore campaign.
"I feel a lot more comfortable, you know I know the mistakes I've made. I know what the coaches expect out of me and I know what my teammates expect out of me, so everything seems good right now."
In his first season in the NFL, Cooper went to the Pro Bowl and absorbed knowledge from legends like Jerry Rice.
"I talked to him a bit, he's a guy that I of course admire as a receiver. Every time a Jerry Rice documentary comes on I always watch it. So, I talked to him a bit, he likes my game, but sometimes you play to please those guys and let them know how good of a player you want to be."
**The Raiders acquired cornerback Sean Smith in free agency and Cooper relishes the opportunity to play against him in practice.
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"It's great, it's definitely a change up for me, he's obviously the biggest corner I've ever played against. We have guys like him, you know they aren't as quick as guys who are 5'10" and smaller, so they play in a different way. They're stronger they use their hands more and they have to add things to their game, so they're usually smarter. It's like a chess game when I go up against him in practice."
A popular story during Raiders' Training Camp has been Cooper rooming with quarterback Derek Carr, and he addressed how he's been enjoying it.
"I would say, you never really know as much about a person as you think until you spend some time with them and communicate with them. I think communication is very, very important, I've learned so much about him over the course these two weeks, I've learned a lot more about him than I knew all last year."
Veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree has been a good mentor for Cooper thus far.
"Crabtree's a veteran player, someone I look up to, someone who knows how to play the game, he's really good at using his hands. I watch him as much as I can and see what I can take away from him."
