Finding Cooper

It is with a definite twist of irony that Amari Cooper has reached a crossroads in his season — and some might say his career — at a time when the 2015 first-round draft pick finally appears comfortable in the spotlight.

- Michael Wagaman

Shy and reticent to speak more than a few words in front of television cameras and reporters with notepads when he first came into the league, Cooper has become one of the voices of the Raiders’ locker room. Each Wednesday, while most of his teammates are scattering to other areas of the building to avoid talk, he stands in front of a horde of reporters camped in front of his area and spends 5-10 minutes answering questions, many of them mundane or redundant.

It’s a job professional athletes detest as a rule of thumb and one that veterans like Michael Crabtree, Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin have managed to deftly avoid doing this year.

Cooper, however, has slowly grown into the role even as questions over his role and production (or lack thereof) have increased.

For example, Cooper was asked how he was holding up a few days after the Raiders Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, a game in which Cooper caught only one pass and had just two thrown in his direction despite being wide open on several occasions.