Amari Cooper born June 17, 1994 is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top receiver and a unanimous All-American in 2014. Widely considered the top wide receiver prospect of the 2015 NFL Draft, Cooper was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Oakland Raiders.After successful rookie and sophomore seasons that included back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns and two Pro Bowl appearances, Cooper struggled in his third season with the Raiders, totaling just 680 yards. Midway through the 2018 season, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and his play began to flourish again, including a 217-yard performance, and as a result, was voted to the third Pro Bowl of his career. Cooper also had successive 1,000 yard seasons in 2019 and 2020, Amari Cooper making the Pro Bowl in 2019. In 2022, Cooper was traded to the Browns. He had 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, becoming the first wide receiver in team history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons
Amari Cooper Facts
- Born: June 17, 1994 (age 29) Miami, Florida, US
- Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
- Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
- High School: Miami Northwestern
- Career History: Oakland Raiders (2015–2018).Dallas Cowboys (2018–2021), Career Highlights and Awards: PFWA All-Rookie Team (2015), BCS National Champion (2012)
Amari Cooper Early years
Cooper attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Miami, FloridaAs a junior, he missed much of the season with an injury, but still managed to be one of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s primary targets and had 16 catches for 175 yards with four scores. Cooper was dominant on the 7-on-7 circuit at various college campuses before his senior season. He had a show-out performance at Alabama’s summer camp, and that quickly led to an offer from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. In his final year, he hauled in 33 receptions for 722 yards and six touchdowns. He was a first-team FHSAA 8A All-State selection, as well as the number-four player on Orlando Sentinel’s Florida Top 100. He was also invited to play at the 2012 Under Armour All-America Game, where he had a 75-yard touchdown grab and a 93-yard punt return for a score. In addition to being a standout in football, Cooper also starred in basketball and track at Miami Northwestern.
Cooper was a consensus four-star prospect. He was listed as the number 45 in the Rivals100, and was considered the number-six wide receiver and number-eight player in Florida by Rivals.com.ESPNU listed him as the nation’s number-seven wideout and number-46 overall prospect in the ESPNU 150 while ranking 25th in the ESPNU Southeast Top 100 and number 12 in Florida. He was ranked as the number-six wide receiver and the number-10 player in the state of Florida by 247Sports.com, while ranking him 55th in the Top247.lso, Scout.com rated him as the number-12 pass catcher in the nation and 86th overall prospect. He chose Alabama over Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. Cooper announced his verbal commitment to the University of Alabama on September 22, 2011
Amari Cooper College career
Amari Cooper As a freshman at Alabama, Cooper played in all 14 games, including starts in the final nine games. He led the team with 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 11 touchdowns broke Alabama’s 62-year-old record by Al Lary.His receptions and receiving yards broke Julio Jones’s Alabama freshman records. In the SEC Championship, he had eight receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown in the 32–28 victory over Georgia, including the go-ahead touchdown with 3 minutes left in the game.In Alabama’s 2013 BCS National Championship Game 42–14 victory over Notre Dame, Cooper led all Alabama receivers with six catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper earned consensus Freshman All-American honors and was selected to the SEC All-Freshman team by the league coaches.
Sophomore season
Amari Cooper As a sophomore in 2013, Cooper played in 12 games with seven starts, missing two games due to injury. He had 45 receptions for a team-high 736 yards and four touchdowns.He had his best game of the season against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, recording six receptions for 178 yards, including a school record 99-yard touchdown reception from quarterback A. J. McCarron. In the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma, he had nine receptions for 121 yards in the 45–31 loss.
Junior season
As a junior in 2014, Cooper set numerous single-season and career records for Alabama. Against Tennessee, he broke Alabama’s single game receiving yards record, finishing with 224. He later matched the record against Auburn. For the season, Cooper had 124 receptions for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns, both school records. In addition, his 124 receptions were an SEC record. He became Alabama’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards (3,463), and receiving touchdowns Cooper was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing third behind Marcus Mariota and Melvin Gordon. He won the Biletnikoff Award that season and was also named a unanimous All-American.
Amari Cooper Professional career
Cooper was considered one of the best wide receivers in the 2015 draft class, together with Kevin White. In most mock drafts, he was projected to be a top-10 pick,Amari Cooper with some having him as high as the fourth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
In the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Cooper had only five receptions for 62 yards on 13 targets, though one was a touchdown.After having 33 yards in Week 2, Cooper had three consecutive games with less than 10 receiving yards. However, on Thursday Night Football, in a 31–30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, Cooper caught 11 Amari Cooper passes for a then career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns. His yardage was the most by any NFL player at that point in the 2017 season, the second-most in franchise history, and the first 200+ yard game in franchise history since 1965. With his stellar performance in Week 7, Cooper earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week.Amari Cooper In the season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Cooper caught three receptions for 115 yards and an 87-yard touchdown in the 30–10 loss.He was later revealed to have struggled throughout the latter half of the season with an ankle injury that hampered his play. Cooper finished the 2017 season recording career-lows with 48 receptions for 680 yards but did have a career-high seven touchdowns.
2018 season
On April 22, 2018, the Raiders exercised the fifth-year option on Cooper’s contract.
Amari Cooper During Week 4 against the Browns, Cooper caught eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in a 45–42 overtime win. Two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks in London, Cooper suffered a concussion and was knocked unconscious. The Raiders went on to lose 27–3.
Amari Cooper Personal life
Cooper is an avid chess player. He was first captivated by the game as an elementary school student in northwest Miami, and as a football player, he relates chess strategies to his play on the field.He played in Chess.com’s BlitzChamps, a rapid tournament for NFL Amari Cooper players, and came in second place behind Chidobe Awuzie.