Overview
- Tuesday reports show Cooper has been getting heavy first-team reps and an expanded target share while DeVonta Smith and rookie Makai Lemon miss multiple practices with hamstring problems.
- Jalen Hurts has praised Cooper’s hands, contested-catch ability and physicality and has been actively targeting him in team drills.
- Local beat reporters have elevated Cooper’s Week 1 outlook with speculative talk of a starter-level role, though those projections are tentative and depend on preseason game reps and injury recoveries.
- Elijah Moore and Dontayvion Wicks have also increased their first-team work, and coverage notes that Lemon has not practiced since Aug. 3, making his availability for the Aug. 15 preseason opener uncertain.
- Cooper entered the league as a 2025 undrafted free agent from Tarleton State who had limited offensive snaps last season, and his camp surge could shift the Eagles’ early-season pecking order if it holds through preseason evaluations.