OFFICIAL 2026 NFL Draft Stuff

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17. Omar Cooper Jr. WR, Indiana​

Height: 6-0 | Weight: 199

Cooper made the catch of the year with his acrobatic toe-tap in the back of the end zone for the winner touchdown against Penn State, but he's much more than that highlight. Cooper is an elite route runner who moves well through traffic and dominates the middle of the field. His ability to pick up yards after the catch is equally impressive, which allowed him to rack up 937 yards and 13 touchdowns on 69 catches last season. Cooper has slot and outside alignment experience and versatility, making him an ideal No. 2 receiver.
 
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18
Omar Cooper Jr.
Indiana · WR · Junior (RS)
Cooper is one of my favorite players to study in this year’s draft. He’s strong, reliable and explosive. He uses his lower-body strength to run through press coverage and he’s a loose/fluid route runner. He plays without fear in the middle of the field, making combat catches look easy. He can really pluck the ball and stays grounded through the catch on crossers. Also, he can elevate and play above the rim (SEE: game-winner against Penn State) when necessary. After the catch, he has the power to break tackles and enough speed to pull away. Sources at the school rave about his makeup and competitiveness. Overall, Cooper fits the exact model of wideouts finding immediate success in the NFL.
 
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Yeah, I'm not older than dirt and not on the verge of fossilization like these guys, but giving the soundbite that for tight ends "it's all about catch, run, block" simply isn't enough for to be a Rams TE. Rams TEs need also need good football IQ and strong attention to detail:

Cooley, who takes pride in knowing the game, quickly realized that even he was out of his depth when debating concepts and philosophies with his new position coach.

“I have always thought of myself as a smart football player,” Cooley said. “And Sean’s in the room, and within a week he knows 10 times more than I know about the game of football. So it became a massive challenge to me to challenge Sean. To understand it the way he understood it. Because of him I learned every front, every coverage, every look that you could get defensively.”

McVay stubbornly insisted his players not only know their positions, but fully understand and know the assignments of the players around them. Not every coach does that.

He speaks football on a level that’s like Spanish to most people,” Cooley said. “Football is its own language, really, and every offense is a little sect of that language. But he speaks the most fluent football I’ve ever heard. You get to a point where you’re like, ‘Sean, we’re saying the same thing here. I’m just saying it in Spanglish.’ He’s like, ‘No, but I want you to say it my way.’ ”

People ooh and ahhh about physical attributes. Any analysis that omits inquiry into football aptitude/IQ is incomplete, imo.