2015 NFL Draft: Why Amari Cooper Could Be the Next Odell Beckham Jr.

Amari Cooper isn't the most physically imposing receiver, but he is widely considered to be among the top prospects in the 2015 NFL draft.

In an era where 6'4", 230-pound receivers dominate the game, how does a player such as Cooper elevate his stock to such an elite level?

While Cooper's size and speed certainly present some minor limitations, we only have to go back one year to find a prospect who found immediate success with similar traits.

Odell Beckham Jr. burst onto the scene as arguably the most dominant rookie, regardless of position, in the 2014 season. Despite others such as Mike Evans possessing elite size and strength and guys like Sammy Watkins and Brandin Cooks possessing the ability to win with pure speed, Beckham trumped them all with elite fundamentals.

Cooper's best traits compare favorably to Beckham, and it's these tools that have him in the conversation to be a top-five pick in April's draft. 

The following three traits are what allow Cooper to win with modest physical tools and why he could have an immediate impact at the next level, much like Beckham.

Footwork off the line of scrimmage

Stronger receivers can beat press coverage—or simply deter defensive backs from playing press—with their physical strength. Cooper doesn't have the build to consistently fight off the press, but he makes up for it with his footwork. 

Cooper is a master at creating separation by setting up the defensive back with his footwork off the line of scrimmage. 

One of Cooper's go-to moves against press coverage is to force the defensive back to turn his hips in the opposite direction of the angle Cooper intends to take with his route. For example, if Cooper wants to get an advantage on the defensive back's inside shoulder, he'll use a quick stutter step off the snap to the outside, forcing the defensive back to slightly turn his hips in anticipation of Cooper running along the sideline. 

At the moment Cooper sees the defensive back's hips turn, he'll step into his inside shoulder, giving him a half-step head start on running in inside route such as a post or an in-route.

In addition to creating instant separation, this technique allows Cooper to throw the defensive back slightly off balance, limiting his ability to jam Cooper at the line of scrimmage.

Winning within the stem of the route

Cooper lacks the speed to simply run away from defensive backs, so he needs to create separation with his route. Typically separation is created in the breaks of the route, but the elite receivers are able to set up defensive backs with subtle fakes within the stem of their route as well. 

These subtle fakes go unnoticed most of the time, but when focusing on Cooper's routes, it's easy to see his attempt to set up defensive backs with subtle head fakes, slight movements in his hips and by varying his acceleration. 

All of these maneuvers keep defensive backs guessing and keep them off balance. Once Cooper sees a defensive back take a minor misstep, he is able to accelerate through the remainder of his route to create an extra gap in his separation.

Adjusting to the ball

Players such as Kelvin Benjamin can win the battle for 50-50 balls with inconsistent technique simply due to their size advantage over defensive backs. Cooper and Beckham don't have that luxury. 

To make up for the lack of a size advantage, Cooper needs to demonstrate perfect timing in order to win the battle for contested catches. 

Cooper doesn't quite have Beckham's reputation for acrobatic catches, but he does an excellent job reading the ball in the air and putting himself in position to make a play. 

On this particular play against Auburn (pictured below), Cooper is locked in tight coverage, but he does two things exceptionally well to ensure that he is the only one with an opportunity to catch the pass.

Cooper stays on the inside of the ball, even as it's in the air, knowing that he'll have to adjust toward the sideline to make the play. This late adjustment ensures that he keeps the defender off the ball, giving only himself a shot and coming down with the pass. 

He also times his leap perfectly, attacking the ball at his high point rather than allowing it to come into his chest, giving the defender an opportunity to make a play.

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All of these traits allow Cooper to overcome fairly modest physical tools and elevate his game to an elite level. Many young receivers with Cooper's physical profile fall to the second round or later because these traits need to be developed at the next level. 

Cooper, however, will enter the league with incredibly polished fundamentals and should be able to excel immediately in a similar role to the one Beckham found in New York.

Ryan McCrystal is an NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow @Ryan_McCrystal