Since Jon Gruden left the "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth to become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in January, he and general manager Reggie McKenzie have been reshaping the roster of the NFL team. Seventeen players who weren't Raiders last season are now.

But with all the new, Gruden would like at least one thing that's old -- the old Amari Cooper, the one who was a Pro Bowler in his first two NFL seasons.

The Alabama All-American joined Oakland as the fourth player picked in the 2015 NFL Draft. He became the third player in NFL history to produce seasons with at least 70 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two years in the league.

But in 2017, Cooper fell into the general downturn experienced by the Raiders, as they followed their 12-4 showing of 2016 -- Oakland's first winning record since 2002 -- with a 6-10 record.

Cooper's production dropped to 48 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns.

Injuries got the blame for the falloff. Cooper missed two games because of a concussion and ankle injury, and Oakland quarterback Derek Carr said Cooper "was out there playing on one foot."

"He has to get healthy and stay healthy," Gruden said about Cooper at the NFL's annual meeting last week. "We need him to be the player he was the first two years. I've said it earlier: We're going to make him the main vein of our passing offense and move him around a lot. ...

"We're really excited about him. I think he's entering the prime of his career."

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Gruden will be able to work with Cooper for the first time when the Raiders start their offseason program on April 9. NFL teams with new head coaches for the 2018 season have the option of opening their offseason programs as early as Monday. Teams with returning head coaches cannot began their programs until April 16.

"I said it when he came out of Alabama, that he reminded me of a young Tim Brown," Gruden said of Cooper. "He has that type of game speed. He's elusive and has a wide range of routes he can run. He's flexible. It'll benefit him to stay healthy and stay in the same system for a few years. If he does that, great things are ahead."

Brown played 16 seasons with the Raiders and recorded nine consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Like much of the rest of the Raiders' roster, Oakland's wide receiver corps has had an overhaul. Of the four wide receivers who caught at least 10 passes last season, two are no longer with the team.

The Raiders released Michael Crabtree, who led the team with 58 receptions in 2017, and traded Cordarrelle Patterson to the New England Patriots. Oakland retained former West Alabama standout Seth Roberts along with Cooper.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson joined the Raiders in the wave of new players. Nelson had four 1,000-yard seasons in his nine years with the Green Bay Packers, including 97 receptions for 1,257 yards and an NFL-best 14 touchdowns in 2016. But his numbers suffered last season -- 53 receptions for 482 yards and six TDs -- with Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers limited to seven games by injury.

"He epitomizes what we're looking for," Gruden told SiriusXM NFL Radio about Nelson. "He's unselfish, he's tough, you can isolate him on the backside of trips and he can win in one-on-one. Nobody really uncovers in scramble drills instinctively like Jordy Nelson. And he can still run."

Gruden said Nelson was one of the new players who would help change the character of the team as he seeks to recreate a winning atmosphere with the Raiders.

"I really want him amongst some of the other free agents we have signed to be a legacy-type player," Gruden said, "guys that we are trying to build our foundation around in terms of work ethic and intangibles."

Gruden will have the reworked Raiders together for the first time in eight days. (In all likelihood, that is. Participation in the first phase of the offseason program is voluntary for players.)

"We didn't feel like we needed to bring in three players; we felt like we needed to bring in a lot of players," Gruden said. "We had a lot of needs. ... Our secondary was decimated. Our linebacking corps, we didn't have any numbers. Two of our defensive linemen were free agents. We had a lot of issues. We tried to bring in a lot of players, and our success rate was pretty good when we got them in the building."

The offseason programs of NFL teams are divided into three phases.

In Phase I, the players are limited to strength and conditioning, with rehab work for injured players.

During Phase II, teams can hold three weeks of on-the-field work, but contact drills and 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills are prohibited. Teams often hold a voluntary veteran minicamp just before the draft and virtually always have a rookie minicamp just after the draft.

In Phase III, teams can hold 10 days of organized team activity (or OTAs). While contact is still prohibited, players can participate in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. Teams also can have a three-day minicamp during this period with mandatory attendance.

After that, teams break for a month before returning for the start of training camp.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.