Raiders WR Cooper producing ‘amazing stuff' after catch

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CHICAGO -– Raiders receiver Amari Cooper has dropped three passes in as many games this season. That’s not a positive stat, especially when a pair of them came on quarterback Derek Carr’s first throw of a contest.

That’s about as negative as we get regarding the No. 4 overall pick. After Cooper catches the football, he’s electric.

He has shifty feet and fluid, elusive moves that make him hard to bring down. As an added bonus, he seems immune to the physical assault given each Sunday, when opponents try to control him with brute force.

This kid is tough to stop and, as Carr says, is “a home run waiting to happen.”

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"After he catches the ball in space, you see guys on the sideline with their hand up,” Carr said. “We all think he’s going to score every time he touches the ball. He was a top five pick for a reason. I can tell you I’m thankful he’s on our team.”

Cooper has been excellent after making the catch. As a matter of fact, no one’s been better.

He leads the NFL with 178 yards after the catch. Half of his 20 catches have gone for first downs, and he has four catches exceeding 20 yards.

“Yards after the catch is very important,” Cooper said. “That’s how you make big plays, so you have to work to be good in that area.”

Cooper runs great routes and can make something out of nothing, a quality attractive to Raiders coaches even before he was drafted.

“In a lot of the plays at Alabama, you saw him streaking down the sideline,” offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. “He has caught some balls in the middle of the field for us and made people miss or caught balls on the sideline and stopped, started and juked. It’s amazing stuff.”

Cooper produced consecutive 100-plus yard performances, and can get open consistently in single coverage. He told NFL Network that he hasn’t done anything yet, but he’s well on his way to being the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver in a decade.

He doesn’t say much –- especially in public -– but absorbs as much as possible from veterans around him. That’s especially true of Michael Crabtree, who has become a mentor of sorts for the young buck.

“Michael has been a tremendous, positive effect for Amari,” offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. “They visit all the time. They sit next to each other in meetings. There is just a good rapport there and interaction. He’s really helped Amari’s development.”

Cooper’s development has been vital, and somewhat rare for this draft class. He’s the only receiver among five first-round receivers making an immediate impact. The Raiders are thankful they found the right guy.

Carr especially is excited about the future of his Cooper relationship.

“We’ve come a long way, but we still feel like we’re scratching the surface,” Carr said. “There’s so much more out there that we could do better. Whether it’s a certain step on a route or timing by me, we are seeing coverage the same way. There’s just so much out there, so we have to continue to push each other.”

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