The Oakland Raiders decided to stick to the plan and get Derek Carr some help as they selected the consensus best wide receiver in the NFL Draft in Amari Cooper. Our Football Insiders’ team has all the analysis on this pick and every other pick.
“Last year, the Raiders landed their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. This year, they found him an elite weapon to help him realize his potential. Oakland selected WR Amari Cooper with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, giving the team a chance to have its first 1,000-yard receiver since Randy Moss in 2005. Cooper may be no Moss (not that Moss was any good in the Bay Area), but he is an extremely productive and explosive athlete who will instantly add a new dimension to Oakland’s offense.”- Michael Lombardo
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“I am crying because we’ve been deprived of the chance to see a defense anchored by Leonard Williams and Khalil Mack. Holy cow. Don’t get me wrong, Amari Cooper is a fine pick. But I really think a chance to create a beastly defense was passed up.” – Alex Hickey
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“Normally you’d laugh and say ‘of course the Raiders took another receiver,’ but those days are over. Andre Holmes of all people was Oakland’s top receiver last year and Derek Carr still had a pretty good rookie season. They had to upgrade and why not now? Carr has to be the happiest guy on the planet tonight. Cooper is a great selection here and a perfect fit. A freak athlete, talented route-runner and disciplined player overall. The changing face of the Raiders is real.” – Devon Jeffreys
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“Amari Cooper is the best receiver in the draft, and will be a great weapon for Derek Carr. Cooper is a smooth player with great route running ability and soft hands. Some may have believed Kevin White would have been a better fit because of his speed and the fact that James Jones and Michael Crabtree aren’t running away from anybody, but Cooper gives the young Carr a more complete player right away. It must have been difficult to pass on Leonard Williams’ ability, but at the end of the day, Oakland needed to get Carr an elite weapon.”- Pat Donovan
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“Oakland didn’t go with the best available player in Leonard Williams, but they did Derek Carr a huge favor by snagging the most polished wide receiver in the draft. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio did something similar in Jacksonville as his first four, first-round picks were all offensive in Byron Leftwich, Reggie Williams, Matt Jones and Marcedes Lewis. Let’s hope this works out a little bit better.”- Charlie Bernstein
Charlie Bernstein is the managing football editor for Football Insiders and has covered the NFL for over a decade. Charlie has hosted drive time radio for NBC and ESPN affiliates in different markets around the country, along with being an NFL correspondent for ESPN Radio and WFAN. He has been featured on the NFL Network as well as Sirius/XM NFL Radio and has been published on Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, ESPN as well as numerous other publications.
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