{"id":782007,"date":"2026-02-28T11:04:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T11:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/782007\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T11:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T11:04:24","slug":"how-lawrence-north-grad-indiana-football-receiver-ascended-into-top-nfl-draft-prospect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/782007\/","title":{"rendered":"How Lawrence North grad, Indiana football receiver ascended into top NFL draft prospect"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Omar Cooper Jr.<\/a> smiled Friday afternoon, as he remembered an amusing moment in a recent sit-down with the Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n

Locked into the pre-draft process now, and back in his hometown for the NFL Combine<\/a>, Cooper has been sitting for interviews with a handful of teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, as well as Dallas.<\/p>\n

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During his interview with the Cowboys, Cooper fielded a question about naming Dallas\u2019 current receiver group. His mind defaulted to the meeting he\u2019d just concluded, with Tennessee, and before he could think twice he mentioned Calvin Ridley.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all just laughed,\u201d Cooper, a Lawrence North grad who played for Indiana football<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n

Such has been the breakneck pace of the last few weeks for a player beginning to climb the boards ahead of April\u2019s NFL draft.<\/p>\n

Following an All-Big Ten 2025 season that saw Cooper lead the national-champion Hoosiers in receiving yards, the former Lawrence North standout opted for the NFL. With league eyes fixed squarely on the Combine this week in Indy, Cooper\u2019s stock is rising \u2014 perhaps as far as the back end of the first round<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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His combination of speed, hands, yards-after-catch ability and elasticity have teams intrigued.<\/p>\n

And while Cooper won\u2019t participate much in this week\u2019s activities beyond the vertical jump and the 40-yard dash (like many teammates, he\u2019ll do full testing at IU\u2019s pro day in the spring), he\u2019s embracing the process and eager to see what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m blessed,\u201d he said, \u201cto wear whatever team drafts me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper has spent the last few weeks training at a facility in Dallas. Like his IU teammates, the late end to the season meant adjusting his pre-draft calendar, and Cooper is expected to participate in more drills and testing when Indiana<\/a> hosts its pro day April 1.<\/p>\n

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Listed at 6 foot, 204 pounds, Cooper finished last season with 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

He spent much of 2025 playing in the slot for offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan<\/a>, moving inside from the boundary position he manned the season before. Cooper believes that versatility increases his appeal to NFL teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played outside until this year,\u201d Cooper said. \u201c(Shanahan) did a really good job teaching me and just continuing to help me grow in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

A high-floor catch radius and significant yards-after-contact performance \u2014 Cooper was among the best YAC receivers in the country in 2025 \u2014 also bolster his profile. Speaking earlier Friday, Fernando Mendoza compared Cooper to \u201cprime Deebo Samuel,\u201d referencing the former South Carolina receiver who was named to the Pro Bowl with San Francisco in 2021.<\/p>\n

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Cooper also referenced Ja\u2019Marr Chase, Davante Adams and Amon-Ra St. Brown as NFL receivers he studies closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing compared to a player like Deebo is just a blessing,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cHe\u2019s a really great player and has established himself in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Cooper said he\u2019ll happily embrace the role he\u2019s handed.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s outside, opposite an established receiver, leaning on his burst, or inside, delivering crunching blocks and snooping for open space to fill in the pass game, Cooper said he welcomes whatever the team that drafts him asks of him.<\/p>\n

The Day 2 grade he received<\/a> during his draft deliberation process now looks increasingly out of date. That team \u2014 whichever it is \u2014 might not have the luxury of waiting until after the first round to grab a player whose versatility and athleticism are driving his stock upward.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI’m just the guy,\u201d Cooper said, \u201cthat’s going out there to do whatever the team needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more Hoosiers<\/a> coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter<\/a>. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football receiver Omar Cooper Jr. NFL draft, player comparisons<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Omar Cooper Jr. smiled Friday afternoon, as he remembered an amusing moment in a recent sit-down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4566,53,4048,257,5430,1705,7,26781,110727,6,15,1890,61529,57,1161,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-782007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-amon-ra-st-brown","9":"tag-buffalo-bills","10":"tag-calvin-ridley","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-davante-adams","13":"tag-deebo-samuel","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-indiana-football","16":"tag-lawrence-north","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-nfl-draft","19":"tag-nfl-teams","20":"tag-omar-cooper-jr","21":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","22":"tag-san-francisco","23":"tag-tennessee-titans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116147930193044135","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}