Scouting New York Jets wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: A screen shows Omar Cooper Jr. of Indiana after being selected 30th overall by the New York Jets during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) | Getty Images Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all of the rookies added by the Jets during the draft and as undrafted free agents. We begin today with wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. The 22-year old Cooper is listed at 6’0” and 199 pounds and was the 30th overall pick out of Indiana. Cooper had only started six games before 2025, but he was a big part of the Hoosiers’ national title winning game as he caught 13 touchdown passes and was named as a second-team All-American. **Background** Having been a four-star recruit out of high school, Cooper headed to Indiana where he was one of their few key contributors that was already on the team when head coach Curt Cignetti arrived and multiple players transferred to Indiana with him. Cooper ultimately redshirted his first season in 2022 having played in four games without registering a catch. In 2023, he broke out with a 100-yard game in the second game of the season and eventually caught 18 passes for 267 yards and two scores as he started two games. His role increased in 2024 and he led the Big Ten with a 21.2 yards per catch average. He ended up with 28 catches for 594 yards and seven touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown. 2025 saw Indiana go unbeaten on the way to a national title with Cooper a major contributor as he had 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns. A postseason injury limited his production down the stretch but he still had five catches for 71 yards in the national title game. After the season, having been named as both a second-team All-American and second-team all-Big Ten selection, Cooper announced he was entering the 2026 draft and impressed during the pre-draft process to establish himself as a potential first round selection. The Jets moved up from 33 to 30 to select Cooper, who reportedly was a player they had been considering taking at 16. Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Cooper brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study. **Measurables/Athleticism** Cooper didn’t perform a full workout at the scouting combine and only did position drills at his pro day but his 4.42 time in the 40-yard dash and 37-inch vertical are solid indicators of how dynamic he looks on film. He lacks ideal size and doesn’t have a big catch radius but displays good play strength in certain situations. **Usage** Cooper’s role in his breakout 2025 season was completely different than the one he played in his first two seasons, but the Jets would presumably consider this to be evidence that he can excel in either role. For two years, he played primarily on the outside and was more of a downfield threat. However, his primary role in 2025 saw him lining up in the slot and catching a higher percentage of his passes that were typically closer to the line of scrimmage. He carried the ball on end arounds or reverses five times in his career and scored on two of these, including a 75-yard touchdown. **Deep threat** As noted, Cooper was typically targeted more downfield in his first two seasons but he still had some success going down the field last year. He was still a consistent big play threat as he had at least one catch of 38 yards or more in seven of 16 games.

He averaged 21.2 yards per catch in 2024 to lead the Big Ten and has shown the ability to get behind the defense on deep throws as he locates the ball early and can also make plays down the field on jump balls or back shoulder throws. **Hands** Cooper caught over 75 percent of his targets last year and showed sure-handedness throughout his career as he had just five career drops, three of which came last season. None of these seemed to be routine focus drops.

His catch percentage was below 60 percent in his first two season, not so much because he had more low percentage targets down the field but more because he was rarely used on high percentage short passes. He has an ability to make spectacular catches, including the clutch grab that gave Indiana one of their biggest wins of the season against Penn State. He regularly showcases excellent body control and agility.

Cooper also has big hands, despite not having much of a catch radius, and is adept at hanging onto the ball when taking a hit or going to ground.

**Routes** Cooper’s route running is a developing area but he looks smooth at times, even if he’s not always consistent with how sharply he breaks at the top of his route stem. He can use deception and burst to get open and is effective on double-moves.

Arguably the most tantalizing thing about him as a prospect is that the stop-go abilities and change of direction his displays with the ball in his hands could be harnessed to make him even more lethal as a route runner. Those abilities haven’t totally been optimized yet, but it’s interesting to note that you occasionally see flashes on it on plays where he either wasn’t targeted or the throw was off-target, so these may have fallen off the radar of anyone who focused mainly on his highlights.

One area of potential improvement is when defensive players get their hands on him. He could use his hands better to get them off him more efficiently. **Red zone** Cooper had already established himself as a good red zone option with seven touchdown catches despite not playing a full-time role in 2024. He also rushed for a 16-yard touchdown and caught a two-pointer that season before building on that with 14 total touchdowns in 2025. He has the ability to go up and make contested catches, making him a good option on fades or throws to the back of the end zone. However, most of his red zone touchdowns seem to come from his ability to get separation in tight areas.

**After the catch** Cooper’s ability after the catch is one of his most impressive traits, as he displays elusiveness, contact balance and strength as a ball carrier. His highlight reels are littered with spectacular examples of him being tough to bring down or fighting for yardage at the end of a play.

His production after the catch was 16th in the nation in 2025, with a good chunk of that coming on screen passes. Having never previously been used on screens, Cooper averaged more than one per game in 2025 and produced well on those. In addition to conventional screens, it’s clearly worth getting the ball in his hands as often as possible, so pop passes, jet sweeps and end arounds are also on the menu.

He did not fumble in college. **Blocking** Some scouting reports criticize Cooper’s effort and physicality when blocking, but actually the film shows that he makes some good contributions as a blocker and is more physical than advertised in that area.

His run blocking grades according to analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus were solid over the past season and showed improvement over his first two years. He’s not big and lacks length, so he’ll likely always be more effective at crashing down or hustling to cut off a tackler’s angle downfield than trying to lock onto and sustain a block on the outside. **Physicality** We’ve already noted how aggressive Cooper can be as a ball carrier and that his physicality as a blocker may be better than advertised. In terms of his work at the catch-point, he has a decent record, with a catch rate over 50 percent on contested catches. Some analysts believe this is somewhere he still needs to improve though.

He was a decent basketball player in high school which shows up in his ability to compete for possession. Penalties haven’t been an issue for Cooper who had just three offensive penalties in his career, including none in his last 23 games. He draws plenty of penalties though and will play through contact to compete for the ball.

**Special Teams** Cooper was a good kick returner in high school and got a few chances to run back kickoffs in his first season, with not much success. Since that time, he’s had a few reps rushing punts and some as a blocker on the kick return unit but didn’t contribute much. He had two special teams penalties in his college career. **Instincts and Intelligence** Cooper was able to showcase his instincts more within his 2025 role as he is regarded as good at processing coverages and finding open areas.

His vision as a ball carrier and ability to carry out blocking roles without missing assignments are also positive. **Attitude** Cooper is a coachable player who is dedicated to improving and shows good competitiveness and resilience on the field. He is a man of faith and there are no concerns with off-field issues or on-field discipline. **Injuries** An ankle injury to Cooper in the first quarter of the Big Ten title game threatened to derail his season and the Hoosiers’ national title bid. He missed the rest of the game, but was healthy in time for the Rose Bowl. Earlier on in his career, he had an undisclosed injury that affected him in 2023 and a knee injury during his junior year of high school. **Scheme Fit** Cooper’s ability to play both inside and out and his size profile arguably could make him interchangeable with Wilson which could be a positive thing. New York could be hoping to build their passing game around these players while being able to find other players with attributes Wilson and Cooper lack such as size. **Conclusions** Cooper is a receiver who has an impressive skill-set and a good body of work in terms of his game film. He is the kind of receiver the Jets have been trying to add to their lineup for the past few seasons with Elijah Moore, Mecole Hardman and Malachi Corley each having comparable skill-sets. Jamaal Pritchett brings many of the same things to the table too. As long as Cooper has no character, work ethic or attitude concerns, his chances of being more successful than Moore, Hardman and Corley are enhanced. The production Cooper generated over the course of his career was not necessarily outstanding and it’s worth noting that three of his four career 100-yard games came against non-FBS teams. However, he was on a team last year with multiple viable pass catching threats and targeted less than 100 times as a result. 10 of Indiana’s 16 wins last year were by 20 or more points too, so he would have had a lot of games where he wasn’t targeted much in the second half, if he was even in the game. The Jets will feel they got excellent value by being able to draft a guy they believed was a top-20 talent right at the end of the first round and probably were smart to trade ahead of the Bills to ensure they landed him. He should be a good weapon for Geno Smith this year and whoever starts at quarterback in the years ahead.