Omar Cooper Jr. Fantasy Overview

2025 Role & Results

You Didn’t Always Look Like a First-Rounder

The Jets selected Cooper 30th overall in April, but he was never an obvious candidate for the NFL Draft’s first round.

He hit college as a three-star recruit who lost the interest of some schools after a 2020 tear of his left ACL. Cooper redshirted at Indiana in 2022 and then tallied just 46 catches over the ensuing two seasons.

He broke out as a redshirt junior last fall, leading the Hoosiers in receptions (69) and receiving yards (937). But he trailed teammate Elijah Sarratt in receptions per game (4.3 vs. 4.6) and total TD catches (15-13) despite playing two more games.

Cooper’s 2025 role shifted heavily into the slot, jumping from 16.2% and 9.7% of his pass snaps there the previous two seasons to 83.3% last year. That move also cut his average depth of target from 15.1 and 16.0 to 9.2.

If the Jets view him similarly, Cooper could have trouble getting on the field early in the NFL.

2026 Opportunity & Projection

Projected Role & Competition

There’s clear opportunity but limited upside for Cooper with the Jets.\

He lands on a team with a dominant target collector in Garrett Wilson. The incumbent gobbled up the league’s third-most targets across his first three seasons -- trailing only Davante Adams and CeeDee Lamb -- before losing 10 games to a knee injury last year.

Wilson’s back from that and giving no indication it’ll hamper his 2026. And there don’t appear to be defined WR roles behind him.

HC Aaron Glenn has spoken well of Adonai Mitchell this offseason, but the former second-round pick has averaged just 1.7 receptions per game through his first two seasons. Beating him for the spot opposite Wilson looks like Cooper’s best shot at meaningful rookie-year work.

If the Jets prefer Mitchell as the No. 2 WR and Cooper as the slot guy, the rookie could suffer for ramped-up 2-TE usage. New York drafted TE Mason Taylor in the second round last year and TE Kenyon Sadiq in Round 1 this April.

Supporting Cast

That crowded group meets with a Breece Hall-fronted backfield and a new OC, Frank Reich, who has gone pretty balanced in his offensive approach overall across 10 years as an OC or HC in the league.

QB Geno Smith should provide a passing upgrade over last year’s Justin Fields-Tyrod Taylor combo, but he’s also not likely to push the group to high-level production.