The Oakland Raiders are coming into training camp with Amari Cooper ready to enter as a starter for Derek Carr and this comes as Trent Richardson and Latavius Murray are competing to start at running back, while DJ Hayden may lose his starting job this summer in training camp without some strong play for Oakland.
The Raiders have made a number of moves this offseason to try and improve and they also brought in a new head coach in Jack Del Rio. The team drafted Amari Cooper in the first round of the draft and he is expected to start right away this year. According to 95.7 The Game, quarterback Derek Carr spoke about Cooper and his talent and he said that it's "ridiculous" how good Cooper has looked this offseason. Cooper has been getting high marks in offseason workouts and he is coming into the season with a ton of potential.
The Raiders are expected to have Cooper as the number one receiver ahead of Michael Crabtree and he could end up as a top candidate for rookie of the year. After seeing players like Jordan Matthews, Mike Evans and Odell Beckham break out as rookies, the Raiders are hoping that Cooper can step up fast. Carr said that Cooper has a great work ethic and that he should be able to pick up things in camp easily. Carr started 16 games for the Raiders last season and the team thinks that he is the franchise QB for the future.
Carr comes in after dealing with a hand injury and he appeared fine in minicamp and should be ready for training camp. The main question for the offense is at running back with Latavius Murray and Trent Richardson coming in to compete to start. Richardson was signed in the offseason and Murray comes in after putting in some solid work in limited playing time last year. Richardson is on a two year deal and he could get a chance to start if he looks good in camp.
According to Bill Williamson at ESPN, Murray likely has the inside edge to start over Richardson after the way Richardson played with the Colts. Murray has dealt with injury issues in the past and if he is healthy, he could be the player to start over Richardson for the Raiders. Last season Richardson had 519 yards rushing and he has been a disappointment since his rookie season with the Browns. Murray rushed for nearly as many yards as Richardson last season with 424 on just 82 carries and he will likely get first team reps to open camp.
According to NFL.com, DJ Hayden could be in "danger" of losing his starting job this year if he does not play well in training camp. Hayden is slotted in as one of the starters, but Williamson writes that he could be pushed back if he does not perform well this summer.
