The Jets recently claimed former Ravens cornerback Ryan “Bump” Cooper off waivers from the Miami Dolphins. Today we break Cooper down in detail.
The 23-year old Cooper is listed at 5’11” and 192 pounds and was undrafted out of Oregon State last season after being a two-time Pac-12 honorable mention. He played in one NFL game as a rookie but the Jets are his fourth NFL team already.
Cooper ended up going down the junior college route after high school as he headed to San Mateo and was a two-year starter there. He recorded 47 tackles and four interceptions in 22 games before transferring to Oregon State ahead of the 2022 season.
In each of his two seasons with the Beavers, Cooper was named as a Pac-12 honorable mention. He had 45 tackles, 11 pass breakups and three interceptions in his first season and then (in three fewer games) had 37 tackles, seven pass breakups and a pick-six in 2023.
Cooper was invited to the scouting combine but opted not to work out and then had a disappointing pro day which contributed towards him going undrafted last April.
The Ravens signed him as an undrafted free agent and retained him on their practice squad after final cuts, elevating him for special teams duties in one October game. However, he was then released in November and spent the rest of the year on Seattle’s practice squad.
He initially signed a futures deal with Seattle but they released him in February. Miami picked him up but then released him in May, before bringing him back a few weeks later only to release him again in July.
The Jets claimed Cooper off waivers when he was released by the Dolphins for the second time last week.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Cooper brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Cooper has average size, lacks length and has small hands. His athletic numbers from his pro day workout were also disappointing across the board. He only ran 4.67 in the 40-yard dash, along with poor explosiveness and agility numbers. However, he shows burst at times on film so could be said to play faster than his timed speed.
He did not do the bench press at his pro day.
Cooper is capable of playing both on the outside and in the slot, and has done both at the college level and in preseason action, although he has played more snaps inside than outside.
Cooper’s coverage numbers with the Beavers weren’t bad as he gave up a catch on 56 percent of his targets for an average of 12 yards and with four total touchdowns in two seasons.
He moves well and seems to have loose hips and flexibility to stay balanced and tight to his man. This foundation enables him to jump routes well.
He was employed in zone coverage as well as man coverage, with some lapses in awareness and positioning apparent at times.
He did give up six plays of at least 30 yards each over the course of his two seasons at Oregon State, but the longest was only 41.
Cooper was second in the Pac-12 in passes defensed in 2022 and impressed with 18 pass breakups and four interceptions in his 23 games at Oregon State.
He showcases good closing speed and timing and will compete for the ball at the catch point.
One situation where he doesn’t look entirely comfortable is in the recovery phase. While he makes an effort to turn his head and locate the football, this doesn’t always leave him in a strong position to contest.
Cooper shows explosive closing speed at times and can lay some effective hits but his overall tackle efficiency with the Beavers was poor. In two seasons, he missed 24 tackles, including 15 in just 10 games in 2023.
At times he is guilty of being an arm tackler rather than getting his whole body in front of a ball carrier.
He also didn’t record any forced fumbles in college.
Cooper has a willingness and hunger to come up and contribute against the run, as he gets involved in plenty of plays around the line of scrimmage and graded out well on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus.
He’s not just making plays by cleaning up, though, as he has proven capable of getting off blocks to get to the ball.
As noted above, Cooper can fight off blockers and this is one of the main areas where his physicality stands out.
He’s also physical in coverage, although he can be a little handsy at times. He had five penalties in 2022 and another five in 2023.
Cooper’s ability to close over a short distance would make him a good candidate to be an effective blitzer but he didn’t get many chances to do this in college. He had a sack right at the start of his first season with the Beavers, but then ended up with just 1.5 sacks in two years.
He had one pressure in preseason but his pressure rates as an occasional blitzer in college were underwhelming.
Cooper didn’t have much experience of special teams when he left Oregon State, which is obviously crucially important for any defensive back competing for a roster spot, so it’s encouraging that he has made a few positive plays in preseason action.
He only played as a vice and on kickoff coverage in his long regular season appearance but had also rushed kicks and blocked on the kick return unit in preseason. He had just two snaps as a gunner, though.
There are some good moments on Cooper’s film where he shows good play recognition and is one step ahead of his blocker or anticipates well in coverage.
The versatility of playing both inside and out is also an important string to his bow.
Cooper has showed good determination to get to the NFL having started off at junior college as he tries to follow in the footsteps of his two cousins that also played in the NFL.
As noted, his on-field discipline could be better with 10 penalties in 23 games as a Beaver but he didn’t have any penalties in preseason action last year.
Cooper wasn’t dramatically affected by injuries in college but did miss a couple of games in 2023 with an undisclosed injury.
It remains to be seen whether Cooper will get work outside or in the slot, but you wouldn’t necessarily rush to pigeonhole him as a zone scheme corner or undersized safety convert based on his film, as you might with other cornerbacks that lack speed.
He was a teammate of current Jets cornerback Brandon Stephens with the Ravens last season.
Cooper has some real flashes of ability on film and looks capable of competing even without the ideal measurables you’d like to see. This really puts to the test Aaron Glenn’s comments in the offseason where he alluded to the fact that he’s more interested in how players play rather than how fast they run in their underwear.
He’s been added to the team within a few days of two other defensive backs (Tanner McCalister and Mario Goodrich), each of whom we will break down in due course, so they constitute his main competition right now. If he can make a stronger first impression that either of those then he should get a shot at impressing further in preseason and the early reports have been promising as he had two pass break-ups in one of his first practices last week.
As ever, it may come down to what each defensive back can offer on special teams as to which ones the Jets retain and Cooper doesn’t have much experience there but held his own in that role with Baltimore. Clearly, that will need to be a focus for him again.