Darius Cooper is thriving with Philadelphia’s first-team offense in the absence of Devonta Smith and Makai Lemon. Head coach Nick Sirianni praised Cooper by saying, “he has had opportunities in training camp to win on third down, and he has done that. Let’s give him those opportunities [during regular season games].” The second-year receiver pairs an elite College Dominator Rating with reliable hands in contested-catch situations over the the middle, earning the trust of Eagles coaches, and most importantly, Jalen Hurts.
While Philadelphia’s depth chart remains crowded, the target heirarchy is wide open below established alpha Smith. Cooper’s catch rate in high-leverage routes positions him to siphon a meaningful regular-season route share from Marquise Brown and Dontayvion Wicks.