Amari Cooper

By breaking Julio Jones' freshman records for catches (59) and receiving yards (1,000) and Alabama's all-time record for touchdown receptions in a single season (11), Cooper exploded onto the scene in 2012. His production tailed off as a sophomore as nagging injuries limited his availability. Despite playing in 12 games, Cooper only started seven of them and he caught "just" 45 passes for 736 yards (which led the team) and four touchdowns. Cooper rebounded in a huge way in 2014, becoming the second player in SEC history to eclipse the 100-catch plateau in a season and is the only NCAA receiver with 100-plus receptions, 1,500-plus receiving yards and 14-plus receiving scores through Dec. 4.

getting open and catching the football.

COMPARES TO

makes the spectacular reception look easy with terrific hand-eye coordination and awareness to high-point passes. competitive blocker.

WEAKNESSES

will freelance on his routes a bit and simply drops too many footballs. cooper dropped at least one catchable pass in each of the three 2013 games i viewed (virginia tech, auburn, oklahoma), including a potential go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter in the iron bowl. in all fairness to cooper, he demonstrated his game-breaking ability against auburn moments later with a record 99-yard score to give alabama a 28-21 fourth quarter lead.

IN OUR VIEW

marqise lee, jaguars -- there are plenty of similarities to another former no. 9, marqise lee, however -- and not all of them complementary to either of the 2012 all-americans.

Cooper is noticeably thicker in his chest and thighs than Lee (6-foot, 192 pounds), which may make him more likely to remain durable. He'll need to be to earn the first-round pick that Julio Jones and Roddy White received. With the only quarterback Cooper has ever known at Alabama now playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, Cooper could discover (as Lee did last year) maintaining stardom is more difficult without an experienced passer.

strengths

Excellent quickness and balance to get a clean release against press coverage and to make defenders miss in space. Accelerates in a flash, generating the burst to gain separation from top cornerbacks.

box score statistics can often be misleading when evaluating players, but some prospects have both the resume and the skill-set that are equally as impressive to scouts. and cooper would fall into that category.

He doesn't have the speed of Sammy Watkins or size of Mike Evans, two receivers drafted in the top 10 last year, but it's tough to find holes in Cooper's game. He has a natural feel for the position and is above average in two critical areas

A fast-riser in the scouting services, Cooper showed why he was one of the nation's best at the Under Armour All-America Game where he had a 75-yard touchdown grab and a 93-yard punt return for a score

a consensus four-star prospect

No. 45 in the Rivals100 and ranked as the No. 6 wide receiver and No. 8 player in Florida

ESPNU lists him as the nation's No. 7 wide out and No. 46 in the ESPNU 150 while ranking 25th in the ESPNU Southeast Top 100 and No. 12 in Florida

247sports.com has him the No. 6 wide receiver and the No. 10 player in the state of Florida while ranking him 56th in the Top247. Scout.com rates him as the No. 12 pass catcher

PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection

No. 13 in the Mobile Press-Register's Super Southeast 120

a SuperPrep All-American and the publication's No. 14 wide receiver

a first-team Florida High School Sports Association 8A All-State selection

ranked fourth the Orlando Sentinel's Florida Top 100

also listed as the No. 11 player in Florida by SuperPrep

caught 33 passes for 722 yards as a senior after hauling in 16 grabs for 175 yards and four scores in 2010

coached by Billy Rolle at Miami Northwestern

chose Alabama over Florida State, Miami and Ohio State.