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2015 NFL Draft: Will Amari Cooper Start a Run on Wide Receivers?

By Luke Sims

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Amari Cooper or Kevin White? It’s like an age old question with two good answers.

Maybe it just feels ages old because we’ve been asking it to ourselves for the last couple of months.

If the Jacksonville Jaguars pick a wide receiver at the top of the first round, it is likely to be one of those two players.

Charles Robinson at Yahoo! Sports believes that the Jaguars are going to try to stun the NFL again and bring Amari Cooper into the fold at third overall. While I think that sentiment is a bit off (would it really be “stunning” to see a Biletnikoff winner like Cooper taken at third overall?), a later point he makes is apt: taking Cooper could start a run on wide receivers.

There could be as many as five to eight first round wide receivers in the 2015 NFL Draft. Cooper and White may be the best of the bunch, but as the first round starts to expire, there will be less and less top flight receivers available. Wide receiver hasn’t suffered the same devaluation that the running back position has and getting a player who can make a mediocre quarterback look good is a high priority for a number of teams.

Taking an early wide receiver at third overall could shake things up a bit earlier in the draft. If the Oakland Raiders also went receiver (which is a possibility) then two of those top five or eight talents would already be off the board. It isn’t inconceivable to imagine three gone in the top 10 and four or five gone within the top 20.

But we have to factor in the opportunity cost here.

If the Jaguars take Amari Cooper, for example, and the Raiders had their hearts set on him they could then forego a receiver and pick the best player available that the Jaguars let slip through their fingers. That player could be Leonard Williams, the best player in the draft, for all we know. He’d be tough to pass up if he gets to fourth overall.

As wide receivers are taken more frequently in a run (whatever that looks like) other quality players will become available. No matter how many wide receivers are taken, general managers will be prepared with their next best player on their board. They will be happy to get another player they want. There are only so many Coopers, Whites, or Julio Jones-type players in the NFL and frankly the guys after White and Cooper aren’t worth jumping up to take before the next guy may get a shot. Don’t expect a run, but do expect about five guys playing wideout to be taken on Thursday night.

Next: NFL Draft: Jaguars Round 1 Preview

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