A year ago at this time, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was praising rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper. He loved Cooper’s routes, how he came out of his breaks, his movement and his hands. Plus, said Carr, Cooper’s work ethic is “second to none.”
Cooper went on to have a super rookie season, catching 72 passes for 1,070 yards and six TDs.
Now Carr and Cooper, in this week’s full-squad minicamp, look even better together than they did last season.
Minicamp could be a preview of big things ahead in 2016.
“I think you see a comfort and understanding of where each other is going to be,” head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters Wednesday. “What they can count on from each other. We want to continue to develop that, push hard for that. You saw some nice examples today where they were connecting and it looked really good.”
Carr, simply by knowing Cooper better, says he’s able to throw the ball a lot earlier to Cooper on his routes.
“I’m able to trust where he’s going to be,” he said. “I’m used to seeing his routes run a certain way, and those things take time. …
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“It’s nice to see all the hard work in practice that we’ve had together paying off out here at practice, and hopefully August, September (and) through the season.”
