Darren Mougey had shown a deft touch in making trades at the start of this offseason, so it was only natural to expect the Jets GM to execute a swap or two on the nights of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mougey did just that Thursday, trading the Jets' first pick of Round 2, 33rd overall, plus their fifth-round compensatory selection, 179th overall, to San Francisco for the 30th pick of the draft.
Trading back late into Round 1, the Jets then used their third pick of opening night to select WR Omar Cooper Jr. of Indiana, one of the top targets of top pick of the draft Fernando Mendoza during the Hoosiers' crazy good 16-0 national title season.
"I had an idea, for sure," Cooper told Jets media after his selection about any interest he detected from Mougey and HC Aaron Glenn. "But after the 16th pick, I though that opportunity was out the window. But I'm definitely glad it came back.
Cooper (6-0, 199) made some starts for IU in 2023 and '24, then this past season exploded on the scene. Playing in all 16 games with 14 starts, he accumulated 13 receiving touchdowns, tied for third-most in the FBS. He led Indiana with 69 receptions and 937 receiving yards (13.6 yards/catch). His performance earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors.
This was the first time the Jets exercised three picks in Round 1 since 2022, when they too Sauce Gardner fourth overall, WR Garrett Wilson 10th and Jermaine Johnson 15th. As a result, Cooper moves into a WRs group that is led by Wilson and he adds to the weapons at the disposal of new veteran Jets QB Geno Smith.
"We were still stacking the board with players that we think can help us," Glenn said of his and Mougey's trade thought process. "Talking about [TE Kenyon] Sadiq and just as an overall weapon, he was there and we think this is great value. Then Omar Cooper was a guy we had good grades on. And when we saw him there toward the end, we had an opportunity to give up a comp[ensatory pick] to get back up and get the fifth-year option, just make sure we got our guy.
"We felt really good about that, again, to add another weapon, a guy that's got strong hands, can block, has a little versatility to play inside and outside. So we feel really good about those two additions to the offense."
Cooper is aware of some of the skills he brings to the room.
"My strength is my yards after the catch," he said. "I have really good, strong hands, and I also can run any route when given the opportunity. And I'm a good run blocker as well."
The Jets had four picks of Indiana players in the AFL Drafts of the early-to-mid Sixties, but none played in green and white. Cooper is only the third Hoosier to be drafted by the Jets since then, and the first since in over a half-century, or since the arrival of the most productive IU player to be drafted by the Jets, DT Carl Barzilauskas, who was taken sixth overall in the 1974 draft and made 48 starts.
The teams are different, of course, as are the playoff structures. But Cooper was asked if any of that Indiana magic from 2025 can rub off on his new team, the '26 Jets.
"Now that I've been drafted to play for them, that's the goal that I want to do," he said of working toward an NFL title. "Playing at IU, I had that same type of career, so being able to do this at the NFL level, that's going to be even more special for me. So I'm excited for the challenge, to take it on and help bring something to the table for the team."
