Omar Cooper Jr. is once again the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. The wide receiver had 115 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 to win his second consecutive award.
New York Jets players have now won the award four times this season. Cooper has two trophies, joining previous Jets winners in edge David Bailey and tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
On the Jets’ first play from scrimmage against Miami, quarterback Geno Smith found Cooper deep for a 52-yard gain, 31 of which came after the reception. In the second half, Cooper had a 60-yard reception on a third-and-7 play midway through the third quarter. Three plays later, Cooper’s second-career TD capped off the drive.
Cooper is just the eighth player since the AFL-NFL merger with multiple 100-plus yard receiving games within their first three career games, and the first Jet ever to do so.
Cooper is the first Jets rookie to record consecutive 100+ yard receiving games since Al Toon (1985).
“It’s a long year, so two games, you can’t just say you established yourself,” Cooper said. “I will say, I mean I’m grateful that I was able to play two games, play healthy, and I feel like me and Geno are connecting really well. I feel like we can continue to grow on that and just looking forward to seeing how next game goes.”
Other candidates who vied with Cooper for the Rookie of the Week award were Cleveland Browns receiver KC Concepcion (8 catches, 129 yards), Miami Dolphins receiver Caleb Douglas (2 catches, 70 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Atlanta Falcons linebacker Kendal Daniels (one interception, one fumble recovery, 11 tackles).
The year didn’t start great for Cooper, who joined the Jets as the No. 30 selection in the first round out of college national champions Indiana University.
He had a brilliant 30-yard catch-and-run against the Tennessee Titans, pinballing his way down the field as defenders were shrugged off. But he sustained an ankle injury in that game and wound up on the injured reserve list for four games.
Cooper returned from that exile with a bang, catching six passes for 103 yards and a 48-yard touchdown against the New England Patriots. He and Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq became the first NFL rookie teammates to record 100-yard receiving games within their first three career appearances.
The 2-5 Jets play the Las Vegas Raiders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in Week 8. The Jets are 1.5 point underdogs to the 3-4 Raiders. The money line has the Jets at -120, with the Raiders at +102. The over/under is 45.5 points.
