Jets draft Omar Cooper Jr. and his Fantasy Football outlook is muddy in a suddenly crowded Jets offense

Dale Zanine

Omar Cooper Jr. was the third first-round pick of the Jets, and the second who will be Geno Smith's newest target. New York traded up to get him at 30th overall.

The sure-handed Cooper reeled in 69 catches on 91 targets for 937 yards (13.6 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns last year as the leading receiver for the undefeated National Champion Hoosiers. He did so primarily working out of the slot, but in 2024 he was utilized as an outside receiver and scored seven touchdowns.

His versatility is nice, but his really good hands, polished routes and knack for picking up yardage after the catch separate him from plenty of others in the class. He's also physical, balanced and won't get taken down by first contact easily.

Cooper ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash but he's not a burner like others in the class. And that might be his lone fault. He's really well-rounded otherwise.

Unfortunately, Cooper finds himself in a suddenly crowded receiving room on a team with a declining quarterback. Garrett Wilson has been the Jets' main wideout for years, and New York added pass-catching phenom tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the 16th pick in Round 1. It's hard to envision Cooper carving out a sizable role that will make him a Fantasy standout right away. It's true he should play a lot and see a lot of one-on-one coverage, but that doesn't mean he'll see a ton of targets. It doesn't help that Geno Smith has helped just four wide receivers to 14-plus PPR points per game over the course of his career.

And while we might expect the Jets to find their quarterback (and head coach?) at some point in the future, the likelihood is that both Wilson and Sadiq will be with Cooper for the long haul. It'll take the Jets offense being completely pass-heavy in order for all three to be reliable Fantasy options.

Cooper will get picked in 2026 redraft leagues, but only with a late-round pick. Expectations have to be pretty low -- potentially behind some rookie receivers who weren't taken in Round 1. It stinks because he is a good receiver, but the chances of him garnering even six targets per game seem unlikely unless one of his teammates gets hurt or begins the season playing poorly. He'll also be a late-ish pick in keeper leagues and a mid first-round choice in rookie-only drafts.