Amari Cooper can catch. Amari Cooper can run. Amari Cooper can leap. Amari Cooper can toe-tap the sideline.
There isn't much the Oakland Raiders' rookie receiver can't do on a football field.
Every aspect of his teeming skill set was on display in Sunday's blowout road win over the San Diego Chargers.
Try and watch the below highlight package without verbalizing one single exclamatory remark. Just try:
The full highlight is fantastic, but a few plays deserve a closer look. In the below video, Cooper saves Derek Carr on a ball tossed over the middle late, between defenders, which most times is an interception. The quarterback later called it a "please-catch-it" pass:
"That's what we call those 50/50 balls," Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said, via CSN Bay Area. "When you have a player with the ability that Amari has, maybe it's a little bit better odds than that."
Cooper not only can make those 50/50 plays with regularity, his presence allows Carr to even attempt a game-altering passes like the one he made Sunday.
The rookie's route running is fabulous to watch and his run-after-the catch ability is among the best of any receiver in the NFL. He put Chargers defensive back Jimmy Wilson on skates Sunday with a glorious cut in open space.
Cooper has piled up 33 receptions for 519 yards and three touchdowns to start the season. His stats align with Odell Beckham Jr.'s through six appearances in his rookie campaign: 31 catches, 463 yards, 3 TD (the caveat being that OBJ was still dealing with a hamstring issue for his first couple games).
Cooper is the first rookie to record three 100-yard receiving games within team's first six games since Mike Ditka in 1961.
Wherever the Raiders are playing in next few years, the future is blazing bright with the Cooper-Carr duo.
