Omar Cooper Jr.
Cooper is a first-round rookie slot receiver who is on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain and is close to returning, so his rest-of-season role depends on how quickly he is activated and how much the Jets use him once he is.
Role
Before the injury he started in the slot alongside Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, but he played only five offensive snaps in Week 1 and had one catch for 30 yards (Jets Xfactor, CBS, Sept. 19). Isaiah Williams took the slot in his absence. Pro Football Rumors said Reich also leaned on two-tight-end sets with Kenyon Sadiq and Mason Taylor. Pro Football Rumors called five snaps too small a sample to define his intended role. No snap share or target share exists for him. He was eligible to return from IR in Week 6, and the Jets have not announced an activation. After the Browns game (Week 5), Glenn said Cooper, Breece Hall, Mitchell and Dylan Parham are not too far away (Jets Way newsletter, which published today, Oct. 13). The Jets are 2-3 after that game per the same newsletter. Mitchell and Tim Patrick have also dealt with injuries, per The Jet Press five days ago.
He was the 30th overall pick and the Jets traded back into the first round to take him. SI's preseason preview called him a fit for Frank Reich's offense because he can play outside and in the slot, and said he has WR2 talent next to Wilson. He started Week 1, and his one touch was a 30-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive that set up the first touchdown. Receiver depth is thin, with Patrick on IR and Mitchell hurt, so there are targets available when he is healthy.
He has one NFL catch and five snaps, so there is no track record at this level. High ankle sprains can linger or recur. A Bleacher Report piece put recovery for this kind of sprain anywhere from two weeks to more than three months, though it read the early reports as a lower-grade sprain. When Mitchell, Patrick and others return, the targets get split again among Wilson, Mitchell, Williams and the tight ends Sadiq and Taylor. Reich also leaned on two-tight-end sets after Cooper went down. The Jet Press noted that missing time hurts a young player's development.
Where analysts split
The open question is how fast he gets back to a full role after IR, and whether he is a primary target or one of several options. Coverage mostly treats the injury as a short-term absence with a likely return near the minimum, and I found no analyst arguing otherwise. I found no real debate about his talent. The Jets have not given a return date, so I am not giving one either.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at WR
Fantasy Memo reads your league and answers that every Tuesday, and checks again before kickoff.
Connect your league: 14 days free