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ALAMEDA, Calif.** – Oakland Raiders rookie WR Amari Cooper was named to his first Pro Bowl, the NFL announced Thursday. Cooper, who was originally selected as an alternate, replaces New York Jets WR Brandon Marshall.
Cooper joins teammates S Charles Woodson, FB Marcel Reece, DE Khalil Mack and QB Derek Carr as selections to the NFL's all-star game, to be played at Honolulu's Aloha Stadium on Jan. 31. In December, Cooper, Carr and RB Latavius Murray were named alternates for the Pro Bowl, and Carr was named as a replacement on Wednesday.
The five Pro Bowl selections for the Raiders mark the most for the team since having five in 2002. Cooper is the third Raiders draft pick in the last two years to be named to the Pro Bowl, joining Mack and Carr. He is the sixth Raiders rookie to make the Pro Bowl, joining Woodson (1998), Tim Brown (1988), Marcus Allen (1982), Ray Guy (1973) and Raymond Chester (1970) on that list.
Photo highlights of rookie sensation Amari Cooper in his record-breaking 2015 season.
Cooper led NFL rookies in nearly every receiving category by posting 72 receptions for 1,070 yards (14.9 avg.) with six touchdowns in 2015. He became the first ever Raiders rookie to reach 1,000 receiving yards and set franchise records for receptions and 100-yard games by a rookie with five.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound wideout led the team in receiving yards and yards per catch, while ranking first among NFL rookies in receptions, receiving yards and tying for first in touchdowns. Additionally, his 72 catches are the most ever by a wide receiver 21 or younger and his yardage total is the second most by a NFL player 21 or younger.
Cooper saw the first of his five 100-yard games come in Week 2 against Baltimore, while also becoming the youngest Raiders wide receiver to catch a touchdown pass. In Week 3 at Cleveland, Cooper became the first Raiders rookie with 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games since James Jett (Nov. 21-28, 1993) and joined DeSean Jackson (2008) as the only NFL rookies in the past 30 years with two 100-yard receiving games in their team's first three games. Cooper's five 100-yard games are tied for the second most by a rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
The native of Miami, Fla., was tabbed as the Raiders' first-round draft pick and the fourth-overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft after a record-setting career at Alabama. He was the highest wide receiver taken in the draft and the first receiver taken by Oakland in the first round since 2009.
