Oakland Raiders: 5 players who must improve

2. Amari Cooper

Consistency has been an issue for Cooper over his first three NFL seasons, and injuries were added to that last year to bring clear career-lows in catches (48), and yards (680). Now healthy, he is saying the right things about embracing a role a featured role in the Raiders’ passing game.

"It was cool,” Cooper told reporters Tuesday. “Obviously, as a receiver, you want to go out there and make plays for your team to win. So for him to say that, it really meant a lot to me. I’m just ready to come out and work and prove that I deserve to have those opportunities."

Gruden has said he wants to make Cooper the “main vein” of Oakland’s passing game, while comparing the fourth overall pick in 2015 to a young Tim Brown. He had at least 130 targets in each of his first two seasons, with a career-high 132 targets in 2016, and even in a clearly diminished state last year Cooper finished second on the team in targets (6.9 per game).

Cooper needs to combined the catch production from his first two seasons (155) with a boost from his career-high seven touchdowns last year. That would make him a legit No. 1 wide receiver, and likely vault him into the conversation among the best in the league at the position.