Can Amari Cooper become an elite receiver under Gruden?

Amari Cooper cracks a smile only if you ask the perfect question with the perfect dose of humor sprinkled in, and even that might not make him flinch.

For example, a rare smile flashed after a reporter asked earlier this year if Cooper had ever seen a coach's face turn beet red for all seven periods of an offseason workout, referring — of course — to the new guy, Jon Gruden.

Outside of that, Cooper's grins come few and far between. He's not irritated at life, rather he's just a guy whose personality won't always light up a room if you're not in his corner.

Elite receivers like Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr.? Now those are vibrant personalities that match gridiron talent.

You'll never see Cooper take a helicopter to training camp like Brown or jump out of a moving car and dance to Drake's “In My Feelings” like Beckham. Even Julio Jones, clearly elite but carrying fewer theatrics than the other two, has more pizazz than Cooper off the field. Cooper seems just fine with who he is outside the No. 89 jersey. He's trying to match those guys in another way.

Widely considered the leaders of the NFL'S elite wide receiver fraternity, Pittsburgh's Brown, New York's Beckham and Atlanta's Jones highlight a club Cooper can see on the horizon. Reggie Wayne, who ranks in the all-time top 10 in receptions and receiving yards, ranked the top 10 receivers in the league for Nfl.com and placed Cooper in the “just missed” category along with four others. How many receivers are “elite” in the NFL is open to debate, but the bottom line remains that Cooper isn't one of them entering his fourth year in the league.

If there ever were a time to join the upper echelon at his position, it would be now, under a coach who has produced a 1,000-yard receiver in each of his 11 seasons as a head coach in the NFL. If Cooper can't do it in 2018, or in the near future under Gruden, he might never be able to.

“You just look at what (Gruden) did for me for the four years I had him,” said Tim Brown, a Hall of Fame wide receiver who starred under Gruden in Oakland. “Look at my numbers and touchdowns and things of that nature. If he could do that for a guy who was 32 or whatever at the time, man, what can he do for a guy that's (24) with all the talent that he has?”

Because Brown told us to look at his numbers, let's do just that. In four years under Gruden in Oakland, Brown averaged 84.5 catches, 1,162.25 receiving yards and 8.75 touchdown catches per year from 1998-2001.

Cooper hasn't eclipsed 83 catches, 1,153 receiving yards or seven touchdowns in his first three years in the league. Brown was 32, 33, 34 and 35 when he posted those numbers.

Cooper is a 24-year-old receiver in his prime, playing under a coach whose offense should provide every possible chance for his elite-ness to shine through.

He's the only receiver in Raiders history to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons to begin his career. He averaged 77.5 catches, 1,111.5 receiving yards and 5.5 touchdown catches over 2015 and 2016.

In 2017, despite catching seven touchdowns, he reeled in only 48 passes for 680 yards. This season, he has a healthy quarterback in Derek Carr playing for a quarterback guru in Gruden, a pairing that should do wonders for Cooper. Oh, and don't forget adding Jordy Nelson, a stellar No. 2 who should alleviate more pressure off Cooper than Michael Crabtree did a year ago. Even after the trade of Ryan Switzer and the release of Martavis Bryant, Cooper probably has better receivers below him than in 2017. But like 2017, he remains Carr's go-to weapon.