After a year in the NFL, Amari Cooper on SEC, NFL DBs: ‘Talent level about the same’
By Andrew Olson
Published:
As a former Alabama wide receiver, Amari Cooper is no stranger to matching up against elite cornerbacks.
When Cooper appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio Sunday, he compared the talent level of what he saw in his rookie season with the Raiders against what he saw in three years playing for the Crimson Tide.
“Overall guys are better, but overall guys are smarter,” Cooper said. “And that’s the biggest thing: Guys are smarter. The talent level, to me, probably is about the same coming from the SEC. But they’re smarter, so it makes them better.”
As AL.com’s Mark Inabinett notes, there’s a lot of overlap between SEC cornerbacks and NFL cornerbacks. Eighteen of the conference cornerbacks he matched up against in his college career have been drafted to play on Sundays.
Cooper is looking to build on an impressive rookie season, which he led first-year wideouts with 72 catches for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
