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Fantasy Football 2015: Best Rookie WRs

Amari Cooper may very well be the best rookie receiver in 2015.

Amari Cooper may very well be the best rookie WR in 2015

Let’s take a look at two youngsters who have a chance at being at the top of the rookie WR class by the end of the season.

Amari Cooper

Let’s jump in the DeLorean and punch in April 26, 2009. Destination? Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

With the seventh pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select…Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. He’s a 6’2″, 210-pound wideout who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds, posted a 6.80 second 3-cone time, jumped 38 ½ inches vertically and did 16 reps on the bench press. That’s all fine and dandy, but he couldn’t do the one thing that he was drafted for: catching the ball. He also couldn’t separate at the line of scrimmage and ran a limited route tree. After watching Heyward-Bey for four years, I consider myself a pseudo-expert in evaluating wide receivers.

Let’s fast forward to 2015, where the Oakland Raiders again selected a wide receiver. This time, with the fourth pick, they selected Amari Cooper of Alabama. Cooper dominated the SEC from the moment he enrolled in classes. He broke the freshman records of Julio Jones for receptions and receiving yards. In his junior year, he was a man among boys in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. His 124 receptions are an SEC record. He became Alabama’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and won the Biletnikoff Award.

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Cooper is a 6’1”, 211-pound receiver who ran a 4.42 40-yard dash, posted a 6.71 second three-cone time, and boasted 33-inch vert. The measurables by themselves would make Al Davis drool. It’s the intangibles and the fact that he can actually catch that made him the top receiver in this year’s draft. Greg Cosell wrote, “Cooper clearly was well coached by the Alabama staff, as he showed some subtleties of route running that will transition well and early to the NFL. He showed a sense of refinement and pace as a route runner, and understood the purpose of routes and how to set up corners.”

While many will knock Cooper down because he ended up in Oakland, I think it’s a great situation for him. Forget about the fact that the Raiders still play half their games on a baseball infield. Cooper immediately steps in as the No. 1 receiver. The leading receiver from last year, James Jones, is no longer on the team. He caught 73 balls for 666 yards and six touchdowns last year. The next receiver was Andre Holmes, who caught 47 balls. All you had to know about the Raiders’ receiving corps last season was that Marcell Reece, a fullback, had the fourth-most receptions on the team with 37. While Reece is a fantastic player, that’s a little ridiculous.

Derek Carr had a productive rookie campaign and looked like the real deal. He attempted 599 passes and completed 348 for 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns. The one knock on him all year long was his low 5.5 yards per attempt (33rd in the NFL). Last I checked, there were only 32 teams in the NFL. Blake Bortles was #32 with 6.12 yards per attempt. That number isn’t as bad as it looks though. He did take shots down the field from time-to-time, but most of his damage was done by dinking and dunking. This helped the below-average offensive line, and prevented Carr from being sacked more than 24 times. That Blake Bortles guy? Sacked 55 times last year. James Jones was not a threat to take a short pass to the house. Cooper on the other hand…

The last time Carr had a legit No. 1 receiver was at Fresno State in 2013 when Davante Adams (currently of the Green Bay Packers) caught 131 balls for 1,718 yards and 24 touchdowns. Wow. Carr attempted 659 passes that year. I remember that Fresno State team and there were a lot of bubble screens and short passes. Hmmm, Lane Kiffin at Alabama utilized Cooper on many bubble screens and short routes as well. Carr feeds his number one and Cooper is adept at running the whole route tree: short, intermediate and long. Sounds like a marriage made in Heaven.

Let’s talk about Bill Musgrave, new Offensive Coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. Before his recently finished one year stint with Chip Kelly, he was the OC for Adrian Peterson and the Vikings from 2011-2013. Some call him bland and vanilla, but he knows how to feed his best weapons. 2012 is when Peterson rushed 348 times for 2,097 yards and scored 12 touchdowns…with Christian Ponder at quarterback!

What gets me most excited is the type of offense that Musgrave may employ for 2015. Musgrave said, “We talked about tailoring our system to fit them, but I’ve got a hunch that a lot of the things we did here in Philadelphia will match up real nice and be effective.”  The Philadelphia Eagles ran 1,127 plays from scrimmage last year. They were seventh in rushing attempts (474) and fifth in passing attempts (621). More plays equal more opportunities to make plays and, most importantly, accumulate fantasy stats for owners.

ESPN has Amari Cooper projected as the No. 23 wide receiver with 77 receptions, 1,027 yards and five touchdowns. They do have him as the No. 1 rookie wide receiver, but I think Cooper can exceed those projections. Odell Beckham Jr. caught 91 balls for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last year…and he missed four games! I think Cooper can approach 90 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. He has talent, opportunity, a quarterback and an offensive system to make it a reality. Also, you probably won’t have to spend a high draft pick to get him.

Nelson Agholor

I’m sticking with the Chip Kelly offense for the other rookie receiver who I think will make the greatest fantasy impact in 2015: Nelson Agholor.

Agholor is a 6’0”, 198-pound wideout who recorded a 4.42 40-yard dash time, 6.83 second three-cone time and 36 ½ inch vertical jump. In his senior year at USC, he caught 104 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Mel Kiper Jr. had high praise for Agholor and said, “[Agholor is] a great route runner, plucks the ball our away from his body, has the proven toughness of a return man – you should hear Polian talk about that – and is sneaky explosive.” So basically, he is the anti-Darrius Heyward-Bey. I’m intrigued.

As mentioned above, the Eagles run the most plays in the league. Opportunity and volume will be there. Rookie Jordan Matthews caught 67 balls for 872 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Jeremy Maclin caught 85 balls for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns. Maclin is now in Kansas City, but I don’t think Riley Cooper is going to be picking up that slack.

The Chip Kelly offense is predicated first and foremost on the run. He wants to pound the ball from a bevy of formations, usually of the spread variety. With the signings of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, he now has the downhill runners that he likes. With opposing defenses having to key on the run game, the wide receivers should be matched up one-on-one frequently. Agholor is a great route runner and returns punts, so he’s great in open space.

Many disliked the Sam Bradford trade, but I think he’s a good fit for Kelly’s system, if he can stay healthy. Big if, I know. Remember, Bradford excelled at Oklahoma in a spread system that made him a Heisman Trophy winner in 2008 when he passed for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns with a 67.9 completion percentage. Kelly’s system requires quick decisions and good accuracy. Bradford possesses both.

Man, I just looked at that 2008 Sooners roster. DeMarco Murray, Ryan Broyles, and Jermaine Gresham. Not bad.

ESPN projects Agholor as the No. 34 wide receiver with 66 receptions, 848 yards and five touchdowns. They have the rookie wide receivers ranked as follows: Cooper, Kevin White, then Agholor. I think Agholor has a better year than White. He’s more polished and is in a more favorable environment to put up fantasy stats.

With Beckham’s phenomenal year in 2014, the expectations for rookie wide receivers have skyrocketed and rightfully so. Players are coming in more polished than in previous years and….most know how to catch!

Stan Son is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Stan, check out his archive and follow him @Stan_Son.

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