Is Amari Cooper Head and Shoulders Above WR Peers?

Amari Cooper is the sure thing at wide receiver in the 2015 NFL Draft. He’s a Biletnikoff winner, he’s posted some ridiculous statistics in back to back seasons, and he continues to impress following his final college campaign.

For teams that are looking at a wide receiver, he is unbelievably tempting and the only reason there isn’t a consensus that he will be drafted first among wide receivers is because Kevin White has come on so strong following the 2014 NCAA season.

Football Outsiders aren’t fooled, however. While the rest of us are left wondering if White or Cooper would be better for the Jacksonville Jaguars at three overall, Football Outsiders is declaring Cooper to easily be the 2015 NFL Draft’s best player at his position.

Here’s what they had to say:

"Unlike many wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft, Cooper did not play in the spread, and he faced some of the toughest college defenses in the country. The one knock on Cooper is that his combine numbers were just OK, and his vertical leap of 32.5 inches is below average for a drafted wide receiver. However, the correlation between the combine workouts and wide receiver success is surprisingly weak."

Amari Cooper had the best Playmaker Score among wide receivers that Football Outsiders looked at, pulling a 95.4% which was nearly 15% higher than next-best Jaelen Strong.

Cooper projects to be a player like Marvin Harrison, bringing consistency and play making to whichever offense brings him in. His track record in college is a strong indicator that he won’t be a bust. I agree with Football Outsiders that the combine workouts don’t indicate that a player will have a strong career in the NFL.

For a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars who are possibly looking at early round wide receivers to add to their team, Cooper continues to appear to be the best choice.

Next: Who Should the Jags Take in Round 1?

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