The Jets had a busy evening, taking David Bailey second overall, Kenyon Sadiq at 15, and then trading back into Round 1 to get Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr. with the No. 30 overall pick. New York needs all the help it can get on both sides of the ball. Let’s break down how much to expect from Cooper in Year 1.
OMAR COOPER JR.
- Cooper had a relatively quiet first two seasons in Bloomington, redshirting as a true freshman and then posting 267 yards the following season. As a redshirt sophomore, he was out-gained 957-594 by Hoosier teammate and fellow draft prospect Elijah Sarratt. Last year, his on-paper production surpassed Sarratt’s, but he had five fewer catches and only 36 more receiving yards in the 14 games they played together (Sarratt missed two games). Cooper never registered an analytical breakout (30% Dominator Rating) and doesn’t stack up that well from a box-score standpoint as a result, but scouts point to his after-the-catch ability, reliability, and strength as pluses, with Lance Zierlein comparing him to Deebo Samuel. It’s worth mentioning here that Cooper had just five rushing attempts in college. He was a potent touchdown scorer with 22 career touchdowns on 115 receptions, and this type of draft capital will give him a chance to produce in the NFL right away.
- Cooper can immediately be the WR2 for the Jets with the always-volatile Adonai Mitchell as the only obstacle in the way. Mitchell played hard last year in a tough situation and showed some flashes, but ultimately, he still wasn’t a super consistent option. With a new OC in Frank Reich coming to town and immediately picking a WR in the first round, Mitchell doesn’t seem like a priority here, and Cooper should be able to overtake him early. Cooper’s target ceiling is capped with Garrett Wilson dominating targets ahead of him, and fellow first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq will get plenty of looks as well. In an offense headed by Geno Smith, which doesn’t project to score much, that doesn’t exactly pave an easy road to fantasy relevancy for Cooper despite Round 1 draft capital. The Indiana product should get plenty of playing time, but between Wilson hogging targets and the Jets’ offense looking awful as always, Cooper doesn’t profile as a plug-and-play fantasy option right away.
OTHER JETS PASS CATCHERS
- It was a brutal evening for Adonai Mitchell with the Jets taking Sadiq 16th overall and trading back into the first round to nab Cooper. Mitchell earned targets well for New York last year but only managed 5.2 yards per target, and his career catch rate is just 43.4%. He falls to WR3 on the depth chart behind both Garrett Wilson and Cooper, and he won’t be a viable fantasy pick in 2026.
- As was the case with the Sadiq pick, Wilson isn’t affected much, if at all, by these first-round rookies. He’s locked in as the unquestioned WR1 here and should dominate targets with everyone else fighting for looks after him.
