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Amari Cooper vs. Kevin White 2.0

Amari Cooper vs. Kevin White 2.0

By Sam Hopkins, @samhnfl24 on Twitter

In the most recent NFL Draft, there were two receivers–Amari Cooper and Kevin White–who were pretty much the unanimous top two on everyone”s receiver rankings.

Go back before the draft and you’ll see that a lot of analysts thought it’d be Kevin White going to the Oakland Raiders fourth overall instead of Amari Cooper. And there are also a lot of people that did and still do think Kevin White will be the better NFL pass catcher.

It really came down to preference. Amari Cooper has a smoother, more polished skill set. Kevin White is bigger and more physically gifted. Cooper will likely be a dynamic WR1 early. White, however, is too raw to make a significant impact early on, but the reward could be greater down the line

Expect a similar clear cut top two situation (with neither being the obvious top guy) at the wide receiver position again in next year’s draft with Tyler Boyd and Laquon Treadwell.

While these aren’t exact comparisons by any means–Tyler Boyd is somewhat similar to Amari Cooper (fluid athletes, sharp route running, soft hands), and Laquon Treadwell is somewhat similar to Kevin White (big and physical, attack football with strong hands, raw route runners).

Again, these aren’t perfect comparisons, but they have their similarities for sure.

I’ve seen Laquon Treadwell compared to Dez Bryant and Andre Johnson a lot lately. Just the fact that draftniks and analysts are throwing those two names around show you how talented Treadwell is.
Watch his tape for yourself, he often looks like a man amongst boys when he bully defensive backs.

If you tend to lean towards the bigger, physically dominant receivers, chances are you like Treadwell over Boyd at this point.

So, where am I at on them?

I think Tyler Boyd is the better prospect (and best 2016 WR) as of now.

I usually actually tend to like the bigger receivers, but in this case there are two reasons I have Boyd as my top wide out.

Firstly, I’m a little worried about Treadwell’s ability to create separation in the NFL. He doesn’t show the kind of speed you want to see on film, plus he needs a lot of work on his route running.

Then, you have to at least be a little worried about Treadwell’s durability after he suffered a season ending injury (broken leg) last year.

Like Cooper was in this year’s draft, Boyd is the safer player. He possesses more than enough physical ability and superior polish. And without the injury concerns.

Who do you think is the better prospect? Comment below!

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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