This excerpt below is from an article on from The Athletic, probably needs a passcode but here is part of that article it discusses Cooper. Tim Brown might be guilty of hyperbole, but he was saying this stuff last off-season, that Cooper was not getting used correctly. Cooper must address his drop problems but I do find these comments pretty encouraging.
Notes on Cooper
What about Cooper?
For all the talk about Carr needing help getting back on track, receiver Amari Cooper had his worst season in 2017. He got off to a slow start, battled drops (finishing with seven on the season) and then sustained a concussion and ankle injury. He finished with eight games of 35 yards or less, and 48 catches for 680 yards (in 14 games).
Former Raiders receiver Tim Brown thinks Gruden is the right man for the fix-it job.
“If he can’t (get the best out of Cooper), nobody can,” Brown said. “I think for Amari, this is going to be an incredible opportunity for him to get 120-125 catches a year with no problems.”
One of the reasons Cooper struggled was new offensive coordinator Todd Downing, who forgot about him for long stretches and was reluctant to use him in the slot. The one game Downing got those two things right, Cooper had 11 catches for 210 yards in an Oct. 19 win over the Chiefs.
Brown says Cooper won’t ever question if Gruden used him correctly or not.
“The one thing I loved about Jon is when we stepped on the field, we knew we were prepared. If we lost, we lost,” Brown said. “We got beat physically, but it wasn’t because we had a bad game plan or we didn’t have a clue what was gonna happen.
“As a player, that’s all you can ask for. Make sure that we’re well-prepared.”
Cooper is a gifted route runner, and Gruden will love that.
“His offense takes into account exactly where the defensive players will be and exactly where you have to be as a receiver,” Brown said. “And I have never heard anyone criticize how hard Amari works or how precise he is coming out of his routes.”