{"id":786369,"date":"2026-03-02T09:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/786369\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T09:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:34:25","slug":"rams-should-draft-national-champion-wide-receiver-in-first-round-says-cbs-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/786369\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams Should Draft National Champion Wide Receiver in First Round, Says CBS Analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) runs down the sideline past Miami (FL) Hurricanes defenders Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, during the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/09988ae59a8b30f95a45574f86b08255.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) runs down the sideline past Miami (FL) Hurricanes defenders Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, during the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.<\/p>\n<p>The Los Angeles Rams have the No. 13 and No. 29 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>CBS Sports analyst Bryant McFadden said the Rams should prioritize <a href=\"https:\/\/lasportsreport.com\/rams\/250918\/rams-urged-to-draft-cornerback-in-first-round-to-defend-strong-nfc-west-rival-offenses\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:drafting a cornerback like Jermod McCoy;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">drafting a cornerback like Jermod McCoy<\/a> with the No. 13 pick. And with the No. 29 pick, McFadden urges Los Angeles to draft Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>McFadden explained how wide receiver Tutu Atwell will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Meanwhile, veteran wide receiver Davante Adams is entering the final season of a two-year contract with the Rams and could retire after next season.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Rams need another star wide receiver to pair with Puka Nacua in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I come back with the 29th and take Omar Cooper, talented wide receiver,\u201d McFadden said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=u3cCQAn0jsg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:CBS Sports\u2019 2026 NFL Mock Draft;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">CBS Sports\u2019 2026 NFL Mock Draft<\/a>. \u201cThe reason why I do this is because you got Puka [Nacua], you got Davante [Adams]. Clearly, Davante is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, right? Not knowing what\u2019s going to happen with Tutu Atwell. You got the tight end production who I love. I think they had three of the top three tight ends on their team in terms of how to utilize those guys,\u201d McFadden said.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) runs down the sideline past Miami (FL) Hurricanes defenders Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, during the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"342\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2ad5723e2947da3f9ca51a35b328cb07.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) runs down the sideline past Miami (FL) Hurricanes defenders Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, during the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Photo Credit: Grace Hollars\/IndySt | 2026 Jan 19<\/p>\n<p>McFadden Compared Cooper to Nacua<\/p>\n<p>Cooper is a top draft prospect in 2026 and reportedly had 17 meetings with NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday alone, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Jordan_Reid\/status\/2026767741961556304?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:according to ESPN\u2019s Jordan Reid;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">according to ESPN\u2019s Jordan Reid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>McFadden compared Cooper\u2019s mentality and toughness to Nacua but said Cooper also offers the Rams position versatility and speed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBringing in a guy like Omar Cooper, who\u2019s a versatile player, and he\u2019s a hard-nosed football player that happens to play the wide receiver position. You can do so many different things with him. And just imagine Sean McVay getting his hands on a guy like a Puka Nacua in terms of his mentality and the toughness, but he also has the versatility and the speed and the sure hands. Great playmaker to add to that offense that\u2019s already explosive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field on Jan 25, 2026. \" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a3be9ca512faebd60cfb69936b762540.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Cooper is coming off a strong collegiate career with Indiana that ended with winning the program\u2019s first national championship in history. The second-team All-American finished the 2025 season <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/stats\/player\/_\/view\/offense\/stat\/receiving\/table\/receiving\/sort\/receivingTouchdowns\/dir\/desc\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:ranked No. 3 in the nation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">ranked No. 3 in the nation<\/a> with 13 receiving touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: Grace Hollars\/Indy St\u00a0|\u00a02026 Jan 19<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/lasportsreport.com\/rams\/250928\/rams-should-draft-national-champion-wide-receiver-in-first-round-says-cbs-analyst\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rams Should Draft National Champion Wide Receiver in First Round, Says CBS Analyst;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rams Should Draft National Champion Wide Receiver in First Round, Says CBS Analyst<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/lasportsreport.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:LA Sports Report;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">LA Sports Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) runs down the sideline past Miami (FL) Hurricanes defenders Monday,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[19009,3244,5430,7,4725,1014,58,2444,2611,6,15,93761,1088,424,261,3416,7392,1473],"class_list":{"0":"post-786369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-bryant-mcfadden","9":"tag-cbs-sports","10":"tag-davante-adams","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-indiana-hoosiers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-rams","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesrams","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-nfl-draft","19":"tag-omar-cooper","20":"tag-puka-nacua","21":"tag-rams","22":"tag-seattle-seahawks","23":"tag-the-rams","24":"tag-tutu-atwell","25":"tag-wide-receiver"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786369","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=786369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}