Jalen Hurts has seen enough from Darius Cooper to believe the Eagles may have something real in the former undrafted receiver.
That belief matters for a player who spent draft weekend waiting for his name to be called and never got the phone call. Cooper came out of a five-season run at Tarleton State, where he piled up more than 3,185 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns in the purple and white. No team used a draft pick on him, but Philadelphia brought him in after the draft and gave him a shot.
Cooper wasted little time making noise once the pads came on. In the preseason, he posted six catches for 82 yards and scored on a 20-yard touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. His rookie year didn’t match that burst, but he still carved out a role across 13 regular-season appearances, finishing with six first downs and 92 yards.
Hurts was asked how good Cooper can become, and the quarterback’s answer pointed to both what Cooper already is and what he could still grow into.
"I think he's pretty good already, I think he's going to continue to grow, I can make you a promise and say that he's going to be XYZ, I just think he's going to continue to develop into the player that he's shown he is," stated Hurts. "He has very strong hands, he's always been really good at the deep ball from his time back in small college Texas ball, he's got a hunger and got a diligence about himself that I think those are great competitive qualities, competitive traits that you can have.
With A.J. Brown out of the system, Cooper could be in line for a bigger opportunity this season. He’ll still be competing for snaps with DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown, but he’s at least made himself part of the conversation.
The next chance to see him comes Saturday night, when the Eagles open preseason play against the Baltimore Ravens at 7:00 p.m. EST.
In Other News...
Quinyon Mitchell Injury Suddenly Puts Eagles Cornerback Depth In Focus
A midweek practice scare briefly shifted attention to one of the Eagles most important young defenders, as Quinyon Mitchell left drills and did not return. The injury did not appear serious, but it was enough to interrupt the look Philadelphia got on the field and put the secondarys depth under the microscope for the rest of the session.
Mac McWilliams stepped in with the first-team defense in Mitchells place, a reminder that the Eagles are leaning on a cornerback group that is still sorting itself out. Behind Mitchell, the options include Jakorian Bennett, Jonathan Jones, Kelee Ringo and Tariq Castro-Fields, a mix that gives Philadelphia bodies but not a lot of certainty if the team has to stretch that depth further. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Camp Is Creating A Real WR3 Debate Behind The Stars
Training camp has a way of turning a depth-chart afterthought into a real talking point, and thats where the Eagles find themselves with their receiver group. With DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon slowed by injuries, Darius Cooper has had more chances to work and has made the most of them, stacking up catches and looking noticeably sharper than he did a year ago. In a room built around stars, those extra reps matter, especially when the staff is trying to sort out who can reliably handle a larger role.
Marquise Brown was brought in to be part of the answer, but the early camp work has made this more interesting than a simple veteran-vs.-young-player competition. Cooper has shown encouraging timing with Jalen Hurts, and the more he keeps doing it in camp, the harder it is to ignore him in the conversation for the Eagles next receiver behind the top options. The question now is whether Brown can close that gap before the preseason picture starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Already Face One Big Concern With Their New Pass Rusher
Jonathan Greenards first summer with Philadelphia has already taken an uneasy turn. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said the new pass rusher is expected to miss all of training camp because of a lingering pectoral injury, and Greenard has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list while staying involved in meetings and other off-field work.
The concern now is not just the injury itself, but the time Greenard is losing at a point when newcomers usually need every rep they can get. Fangio made clear the missed camp work matters for readiness, and the Eagles will have to wait and see how quickly Greenard can get back into physical drills once he is cleared. [Read more 🡒]