National Football League

McKenzie: "There wasn't a whole lot of debate" about taking Cooper

Published May. 1, 2015 12:10 p.m. ET

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The Raiders tried to consider every prospect still on the board at No. 4.

They just kept coming back to Alabama's star receiver, Amari Cooper.

“We had an idea of kind of how the draft would go," general manager Reggie McKenzie told reporters after the draft. But when Cooper was officially there, it wasn’t a whole lot of debate.”

That puts to rest any debate about which receiver the Raiders favored. While West Virginia's Kevin White went three spots later to the Chicago Bears, Cooper was always Oakland's guy.

“Cooper was high on our board from the start,”McKenzie said. “Honestly, it didn’t matter about the position. It was about the player. We thought we had a chance to get a really good player."

Cooper at No. 4 is a GM's dream. He was the best player available, sure, but he also fits a dire team need.

That marriage of need and skill worked out nicely for Oakland. McKenzie thinks he'll be the perfect guy for Derek Carr on the outside.

It seems like he can run a route with his eyes closed,” he said. “He’s exceptionally quick. He’s fast and he understands the game. You can tell the guy’s been playing football and playing that position all his life."

(h/t CSN Bay Area)

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