Who ya got? Amari Cooper or Julio Jones?

I know we've had this discussion before but now semi famous people using twitter are in on it so out of respect for them let's join them on the topic.


Alabama’s Amari Cooper went off in last Saturday’s Iron Bowl, catching 13 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-44 Crimson Tide victory. His performance reminded us of another dynamic Alabama from the Nick Saban era: Julio Jones.

We asked the SDS staffers which Alabama wideout they thought was better. Here’s what they had to say:

WHICH ALABAMA WIDE RECEIVER IS BETTER: AMARI COOPER OR JULIO JONES?
Jon Cooper (@JonSDS): Amari Cooper

Julio Jones or Amari Cooper, you truly can’t go wrong, but give me the guy who can run after the catch. Let’s face it: Amari Cooper is the most dynamic wide receiver the SEC may have ever seen. Cooper and Lane Kiffin are a match made in college football heaven, and Jones would have put up similar numbers to Cooper in Kiffin’s offense. Still, if catching ability isn’t a big difference between the two, give me the most explosive player in the open field. Cooper is as dangerous of a wide receiver the SEC has ever seen.

Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): Julio Jones

Julio Jones at first glance, only because finesse players like Amari Cooper have a higher bust potential at the next level. Cooper has all the gifts you’d want in a star receiver — hands, speed, agility, route-running — but he doesn’t wow you with physicality. I could see Cooper becoming more of a slot, slip-screen receiver in the NFL moreso than a field-stretching, every down deep threat.

Ethan Levine (@EthanLevineSDS): Julio Jones

Amari Cooper is a tremendous receiver with speed to burn and tremendous route-running abilities, but Julio Jones is a better all-around football player at the receiver position. Jones is a better athlete with better measurables (stuff they’d test at the combine like 40 time, bench press, etc.) and he has greater big-play ability than Cooper does, which is hard to imagine after last week’s Iron Bowl but it’s the truth. Had Jones played in Lane Kiffin’s offense he may have out-produced what Cooper did this year. There’s a lot to like with Cooper, but Jones has the tools one just can’t teach, and that makes all the difference.

Christopher Smith (@csmithSDS): Cooper in college, Jones in the NFL

That depends on whether we’re talking about college or the NFL, career or one season. Amari Cooper has supplied the Tide with higher highs, but corresponding lower lows (see: most of 2013). I expect Cooper to be a first-round pick, and deservedly so. He should be great at what he does in the NFL, but he’s not a blow the lid off the defense, we need to game plan around this guy type player at the next level. Julio Jones is faster than Cooper, he can jump higher and he’s more explosive. (If you doubt me, stay tuned for the NFL Combine in February.) Alabama didn’t force-feed him the ball quite as much as it has with Cooper this year. From a pure production standpoint, Cooper’s 2014 is better than anything Jones ever accomplished with the Tide, and probably is more developed as a player in terms of technique and route-running than Jones was in 2010. Cooper also has enough athleticism to excel in college, even if he’s not quite to the freakish level of Jones. So if I have to take either of them at the college level, I’d take Cooper, but give me Jones in the NFL.

Jason Hall (@JasonHallSDS): Amari Cooper

From a college football standpoint, Cooper is better statistically. Granted, Alabama’s offensive scheme has changed since Lane Kiffin’s arrival in January. But in regards to comparing college careers, Cooper has the edge in individual statistics. To compare Jones based on his professional success would be unfair. As it stands, Cooper should be a Heisman Trophy finalist, something that Jones never was during his three years in Tuscaloosa.

Brett Weisband (@WeisbandSDS): Amari Cooper

Jones was and is far more of a physical force as a college receiver, but Cooper is far less dependent on his physical skill set to dominate games. I can’t think of a better combination of hands, feet, route running and natural ability at the college level in the last 10 years. Jones was a beast that you could toss it up to a few times a game; Cooper is an every-down receiver that Alabama can throw to just about every snap, because he’s always going to find a way to get open, be it underneath, on a screen or running deep. Jones has obviously translated well to the NFL, and I don’t think Cooper is going to blow scouts away at the draft combine like Jones did with a sub-4.4 40-yard dash. While different, Cooper’s talent should fit in just as well at the next level.

I so disagree with this part in bold.

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