The Great NFL Draft Debate: Amari Cooper or Kevin White?
Collegiate Track Record
While both Amari Cooper and Kevin White put up impressive, dominant performances for their respective schools in 2014, these two star wideouts took vastly different trajectories to get to these points.
As we can see from the graph above, White can be described as a late-bloomer; he spent his first two years of eligibility in Lackawanna College, a junior college in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He flashed his potential and athleticism early on, but never topped 600 yards or six touchdowns in a single season until exploding his senior year at West Virginia with 1,447 yards on 109 receptions to go along with 10 trips to the end zone.
In contrast to this, Cooper kicked off his career at Alabama with a 1,000-yard season in just nine starts his freshman year, and following a brief dip his sophomore season (in part due to injury), he went on to set career highs and school records in receiving yards (1,727) and touchdowns (16), and an SEC record in receptions (124) his junior year.
An argument can therefore be made that one area in which Cooper edges out White is in what scouts refer to as 'polish' -- whereas White entered West Virginia a very raw athlete and is just starting to blossom as he learns to translate his physical gifts into on-field success, Cooper burst onto the college scene ready to contribute and has only continued to refine his skills over his three years at Alabama.
Indeed, these differences in on-field maturity also bear out when we look at the receiving totals for Cooper and White in 2014.
| Player | School | Class | Rec | Yds | % of Pass Yds | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin White | West Virginia | SR | 109 | 1,447 | 35.4% | 13.3 | 10 |
| Amari Cooper | Alabama | JR | 124 | 1,727 | 44.6% | 13.9 | 16 |
Cooper's performance in 2014 tops White's in every receiving category imaginable. And while White produced over one-third of West Virginia's passing offense in 2014, Amari's performance on the field accounted for an astounding 44.6% of Alabama's offense through the air. Cooper's contributions to his team last season not only won him the Fred Belitnickoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football, but also took him all the way to a third-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind eventual winner Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon.
It's therefore easy to see why NFL coaches have become so enamored with Amari Cooper; they see a supremely talented and already-developed receiver that can contribute to their football team from day one.
Advantage: Amari Cooper
