Amari Cooper Becomes 1st 1,000-Yard Raiders WR In A Decade

USA Today

A franchise mark was set for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday with rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper setting a milestone that may not be broken for quite some time. Cooper became the first rookie wideout in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards receiving and also is the first receiver on the team to surpass that mark in a decade, according to Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride:

Early in the third quarter of the Raiders’ week 15 game against the Packers, Amari Cooper caught a 41-yard pass up the right sideline. It was a big play that put the Raiders in scoring position in Packers territory. But more so it put Cooper over 1000 yards on the season, making him the first Raiders receiver over 1000 yards since Randy Moss in 2005.

The Raiders are a team on the rise in the NFL with a promising young core of players on both sides of the football. Although the Raiders showed signs of promise last season, it has started to come together during the current 2015 campaign. Oakland has a potent offense led by up-and-coming quarterback Derek Carr and seem to have added the missing piece to the puzzle in Cooper.

Along with Carr and Cooper quickly turning into a dynamic duo, the Raiders have plenty of other players that have emerged as solid performers on a weekly basis. Khalil Mack, Michael Crabtree, and Latavius Murray are all players that have become vital pieces to the rebuild processing with Oakland looking like a team with a bright future.

In 14 games this season, Cooper has racked up 1,040 receiving yards, six touchdowns with 68 receptions. Adding to Cooper to the receiving corps along with Crabtree, Seth Roberts, and Andre Holmes has proven to be a game changer. As long as the team can continue adding talent on the defensive side of the football, the Raiders could become a perennial playoff contender in the years to come.