The NFL world is drooling over Amari Cooper - the 21-year-old rookie who's already making defenses look silly
Though Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota both look intriguing as the top two picks of the 2015 NFL draft class, perhaps the most exciting pick so far is No. 5 pick, wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Cooper capped off a a tremendous college career, finishing his junior year with over 1,700 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. He entered the draft as the consensus best receiver and went fifth to the Oakland Raiders.
Foolish as it may be to get too excited over training camp and preseason, Cooper has already demonstrated some jaw-dropping talent before his first regular season game.
Early in training camp, Cooper flashed stunning footwork in making a Raiders defender look completely lost:
In three preseason games Cooper finished with 124 yards on eight catches with no touchdowns.
Again, while it's foolish to get overly excited about a player before the real games start, the NFL world is already drooling over Cooper's potential.
Early in training camp, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that Cooper was turning heads at training camp, saying, "The rookie reminds those who scouted him of a young Randall Cobb, except bigger. If that's what Cooper becomes, the Raiders can claim victory. But he also might be better."
One month into his career, Cooper is already being considered a bigger, better receiver than Cobb, who finished with 1,287 receiving yards, 11th most in the NFL, and 12 touchdowns!
In NFL.com's award predictions, Cooper received seven of 13 votes to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Elliot Harrison predicted him to have an 80-catch season; Bucky Brooks predicted him to have a 100-catch season. Jeffrey Chadiha called him "the most polished receiver in the draft," while Charley Casserly said he should become "the focal point of the offense."
Even NFL players are starting to take notice. Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, a fellow Alabama alum who will be matched against Cooper in Week 1, told ESPN's Coley Harvey, "He looks great. He doesn't look like a rookie, I'll tell you that. He looks like he's been here before."
Cooper will obviously have times where he struggles in his rookie year, and if he proves to be as explosive in the regular season as he's looked so far, he could see more coverage from opposing defenses to make his life harder. However, even in a talented rookie class, Cooper already looks to have the potential as a must-watch player as the NFL season kicks off.