Amari Cooper knows what you're thinking, and he doesn't necessarily disagree.
One of only three receivers in NFL history to record at least 70 receptions and 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons (the others were Marques Colston and Odell Beckham Jr.), Cooper has nonetheless ended both the 2015 and the 2016 seasons leaving the impression that it could have been so much more.
Cooper had 72 receptions for 1,070 yards as a rookie first-round draft pick out of Alabama, and last season had 83 receptions for 1,153 yards.
But while Cooper breaks from the gate and leaves defenders in his wake, he struggles to reach the finish line. A fade when it comes to Cooper isn't always a route run into the back of the end zone.
"Of course it's been on my mind, but it's a good thing to me because I feel like I can go nowhere but up," Cooper said last week. "I know that I can have a lot more production than I've had in the past two seasons, so we'll just see."
As a rookie, Cooper had 45 catches for 665 yards in his first eight games and 27 for 405 yards the rest of the way.
In Year 2, Cooper had 52 catches for 787 yards at mid-season and 31 for 366 in the final eight.
Considering Cooper's talent, the end zone has been more elusive than you'd expect, with 11 touchdowns in 32 games.
The thing coach Jack Del Rio likes about Cooper is he doesn't have to spend a lot of time urging him to keep pushing.
"I know he's just scratching the surface of what he wants to accomplish in this league," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "Very prideful. Amari has always been very serious about the game and works hard at everything."
Persistent drops and a foot injury slowed Cooper as a rookie, but last season it was more difficult to pinpoint reasons for the late-season fade.
Cooper believes hard work and emphasis on fundamentals will enable him to put two good halves together.
"It's easy to forget the small things like high-pointing the ball, looking the ball all the way through and not trying to run before you catch the ball," Cooper said. "Overall, (I'm) just working hard in the offseason so that you can come back and you can be dominant."
When it's suggested to Cooper that the third season can be a lift-off point for his position, he said, "We're in the present now, so I want to be the best Amari Cooper that I could possibly be. I want to be better than every other year that I've played football, so that's how I am looking at this year."
By making small improvements, Del Rio believes Cooper's star will continue to ascend.
"I think he has a much greater understanding," Del Rio said. "I thought last year was a step forward. I know he wants to continue to push. It's great when you have a young, talented player that's really eager to be special, wants to make his mark in this league. The way he's working at it right now is outstanding.
"That's all we want of our guys. Come in every day and express themselves and be full of energy and try to work at something. Be a little bit better at something."
