{"id":850272,"date":"2026-04-02T23:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850272\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:44:16","slug":"why-omar-cooper-jr-makes-perfect-sense-for-the-new-york-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850272\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Omar Cooper Jr. makes perfect sense for the New York Jets"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey never said the team would ignore the wide receiver position this offseason; he just said he liked what he already had on the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good about the wide receiver room,\u201d Mougey said at league meetings on Monday.<\/a> \u201cObviously, getting Garrett [Wilson] back and healthy will be big for us. Seeing A.D. Mitchell, Isaiah [Williams], and Arian [Smith] \u2014 having those guys take the next step and continue to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut like all positions, we\u2019ll continue to evaluate the markets and see, \u2018Is there an opportunity to add competition and depth?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As things stand, outside of top wideout Garrett Wilson<\/a>, the Jets field former second-round pick Adonai Mitchell, special teams ace Isaiah Williams, and former fourth-round pick Arian Smith. It doesn\u2019t take a genius to realize there are still several questions regarding New York\u2019s receiver room.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the 2026 NFL draft enters the fray<\/a>. While the receiver class of rookies won\u2019t be put in the same comparison as other elite groups in the past, there are quality starters at different levels of this draft.<\/p>\n

From Ohio State\u2019s Carnell Tate to USC\u2019s Makai Lemon, there are a number of players who fit New York\u2019s needs. One of the more underrated names has also been tied to the team more than ever. <\/p>\n

Jets\u2019 latest mock draft fit<\/p>\n

At first glance, Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.\u2019s collegiate career doesn\u2019t stand out quite like some of the elite names available this draft cycle. In four seasons with the Hoosiers, he caught 115 passes for over 1,700 yards and 22 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

It was his final season at Indiana, though, that showed just how good the homegrown talent could be.<\/p>\n

With Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza throwing him the ball, Cooper caught 13 touchdown passes to go along with over 900 yards receiving. When there was a play to be made, Cooper was the one making it for the Hoosier offense. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s why NFL Network\u2019s Daniel Jeremiah mocked the 22-year-old to the Jets with their 16th overall pick in his latest mock draft. <\/p>\n

\u201cCooper would be an awesome complement to veteran receiver Garrett Wilson,\u201d Jeremiah recently said.<\/a> \u201cThe former Hoosier is a tough pass catcher who can play inside and outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York needs a receiver who can play at the \u201cX\u201d spot of the offense \u2014 or on the boundary to allow Wilson to operate from the slot. Cooper\u2019s 6-foot frame suggests he can be utilized as a boundary player, as well as in the slot. He also plays stronger than many expect from a 200-pound wideout.<\/p>\n

Is he better than the top trio of Tate, Lemon, and Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson? Probably not. <\/p>\n

Then again, the gap between the four is a lot closer than some fans may expect, and that makes a potential partnership with the Jets all the more reasonable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey never said the team would ignore the wide receiver position this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1469,7,3228,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,15,4404,3231,3916,3234,31834],"class_list":{"0":"post-850272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-darren-mougey","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-free-content","11":"tag-jets","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-jets","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkjets","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-nfl-draft","18":"tag-ny-jets-executives","19":"tag-ny-jets-news","20":"tag-ny-jets-players","21":"tag-standard","22":"tag-syndication"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337775886668416","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850272","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=850272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}