Training camp darling Darius Cooper appreciates ‘the journey’ from going undrafted to Eagles’ 53-man roster
Cooper, who left Tarleton State as the program's all-time receiving yards leader, did the "dirty work" as injuries piled up in the Eagles' receiving corps during training camp.
Darius Cooper got the call to the office on Tuesday. It was time for the training camp darling, undrafted out of Tarleton State, to meet with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni.
His football future hung in the balance, but Cooper said he walked toward the meeting with a sense of peace.
The meeting started with a question. “They asked me my opinion of how I did during training camp,” Cooper said Wednesday.
The 23-year-old told them he did “OK,” but there were things he could’ve done better. Cooper burst onto the scene with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown in his preseason debut. But he knew he had to stay neutral, despite taking occasional first-team reps through the final week of camp.
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The meeting, of course, ended with good news for Cooper. He would be on the initial 53-man roster. He left the meeting and called his wife, Kennady, with whom he has been since they attended Missouri’s Hazelwood West High School. Kennady, Cooper said, “has all the feels” right now.
Cooper was an unheralded recruit as a dual-threat quarterback at Hazelwood. He transitioned to receiver at Tarleton State, a FCS program in Texas, and was first-team all-conference by his sophomore season. He passed up opportunities to leave for bigger schools and probably more money, relying on his faith, he said, and left Tarleton State as its all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,185.
He wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine and later went undrafted before landing with the Eagles.
“I definitely appreciate the journey, but we’re going to keep moving forward,” Cooper said.
Injuries helped pave the way for Cooper to make an impression — and eventually make the team. A.J. Brown, who is Cooper’s favorite receiver (“He knows that,” Cooper said), missed the majority of training camp with a hamstring injury. DeVonta Smith was on and off the practice field with back and groin issues. Johnny Wilson suffered season-ending knee and ankle injuries later in camp. There were reps up for grabs, and Cooper, who showed strong hands and a willingness to do what Nick Sirianni called ”the dirty work,” took advantage.
Cooper was one of five receivers the Eagles kept on the 53-man roster along with Brown, Smith, Jahan Dotson, and John Metchie. His mentality now, he said, is to “stay consistent and just continue to work hard with my brothers for this organization.”
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Sirianni said Cooper’s toughness can help him carve out a role, whether that’s on offense or special teams. The passing game will, as usual, run through Brown, Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Dotson, who looks like he’ll be more involved. Barring injuries, there will be minimal opportunities for Cooper to emerge as a pass catcher.
“Some guys have to come up a different way, right?” Sirianni said Tuesday. “They have to come up with doing some of the dirty work. I think that this guy is a really strong football player who can do some of the dirty work stuff for us, as far as our blocking, as far as special teams. As far as he’s got good speed to be able to clear things out.
“When you have a guy like that, there’s opportunities for him as well in the pass game that mesh off of some of those things. So I’m looking forward to watching him continue to develop.”
Cooper said there was a backup plan. Undrafted free agents don’t typically have a long shelf life playing professional football. The backup plan still is the backup plan: Cooper wants to return to school one day and get a doctorate in physical therapy. That plan is on hold.
For now, Cooper said the details and various techniques are what he’s still looking to improve on most. He may be in need of a new jersey number, too.
“I love No. 41,” Cooper said. “It was a great introduction to the league. We’ll see where that goes.”