The Jets have signed OL Anez Cooper, the No. 188 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.
To bolster an already solid offensive line, Jets GM Darren Mougey again executed a savvy transaction -- his fourth of this year's draft -- when the Jets moved up 11 spots in Round 6 to select Cooper (6-5, 334), who started at RG in all 16 of Miami's games last season as the Hurricanes advanced to the National Championship game. In the trade on the final day of the draft Mougey sent two picks to Seattle, No. 199 overall (Round 6) and No. 242 overall (Round 7) to grab Cooper.
"I think we've been saying this throughout the week, is man, guys that have won, and there's a number of different types of guys that we got," HC Aaron Glenn said on April 25."When you look at today, we got some huge men to play for us and you probably heard me say mass kicks ass, and with DJ [ Darrell Jackson Jr.., a DT out of Florida State taken in Round 4], with Coop), with those guys, those guys are really good developmental lineman that we can have be able to look at the guys we have and be able to learn to get better."
Last season, Cooper, 22, took 1,022 snaps -- the fifth-most among 537 qualifying interior offensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus. He earned a pass protection grade of 78.9 (T-82) and a 2.3% pressure rate (T-113), and an overall grade of 68.7 overall grade (124th) with a 67.4 run-blocking grade (T-109).
"I feel like [Miami HC Mario] Cristobal did a very good job, the way he prepared us and the way our trenches were made," Cooper said after being selected by the Jets. "I feel like we had NFL trenches at Miami, guys like [Ahkeem] Mesidor and [Rueben] Bain, all those guys are first-round guys."
Cooper, per PFF, had a pass-blocking efficiency rating of 78.9 and a run-blocking grade of 68.9 last season and repeated in winning All-ACC honors. He played his entire collegiate career at RG, making a total of 45 starts.
A native of Pleasant Grove, AL, where he played in high school, Cooper opted to play for the Hurricanes, spurning offers from Auburn, Georgia and Oregon.
