On Friday, Omar Cooper Jr., who was taken 30th overall, along with the Jets' top pick at No. 2, David Bailey, for the first time met the New York media in person at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Cooper, Jr. mentioned a productive meeting he had with head coach Aaron Glenn, though he also said on Friday that he realized his chances of landing with the Green & White might not happen because the team had already used its second selection in the first round on TE Kenyon Sadiq.
"The conversation that we had in his office felt like we just connected really well," Cooper Jr. said on Friday afternoon. "And just everything that he was talking about, I really, really enjoyed what I was hearing, and really loved what I was hearing, and I told him. I mean, that's something that I would love to be a part of. And so, the fact that he actually came and got me, I was grateful."
Toward the tail end of the first round, the Jets traded back in and used the 30th pick to take the Indiana wideout after completing a trade with San Francisco. The Jets sent the first pick of Round 2, No. 33 overall, plus a fifth-round compensatory selection, No. 179 overall, to the 49ers.
Cooper, Jr., 22, is a native of Indianapolis who stayed home at Indiana University all four years -- leading to a National Championship this past January. In that championship season, Cooper (6-0, 199) had 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 receiving TDs. Among one of those grabs was his spectacular, toe-tapping TD catch at Penn State to give the Hoosiers' the victory in early November.
Speaking about the catch, he said: "I feel like that's kind of what got my name really known. I feel like just that play, they started really seeing who I was and started watching me a little bit more after that."
The move by Mougey to get back into the first round for a third selection (after edge Bailey at No. 2 and TE Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16), left the Jets with a single pick (so far), No. 44, on Friday night. Since taking over at the team's helm in January 2025, Mougey has engineered 15 trades with 12 teams, and when it comes to draft picks, he's traded 15 and gotten back 13.
"Omar Cooper was a guy that we had good grades on and when we saw him there towards the end, an opportunity to give up a comp fifth, pick 179, to get back up and get the fifth-year option and just make sure we got our guy, we felt really good about," Mougey said. "Again, to add another weapon, a guy that's got racks, strong hands, can insert blocks, has a little versatility to play inside and outside. So, I feel really good about those two additions for the offense."
Cooper, Jr. now joins a strengthened group at wide receiver and was viewed as a player who could complement and ease some of the pressure on Garrett Wilson, a player he has liked for a long time.
"I actually grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes fan, so I was actually a fan of his when I was younger," Cooper, Jr. said.
