Making the Case: Should Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. be the top target for the Los Angeles Rams?
The Los Angeles Rams have frequently been connected to a national champion in Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. Does he make sense in the first round?
The Los Angeles Rams haven’t hidden their interest in a wide receiver in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Given their interest in other wide receivers throughout the draft and free agency, their pick at No. 13 has been linked to numerous wide receivers, including Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
However, does the pairing make a lot of sense? Should the Rams draft Omar Cooper Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft?
I’m kickstarting a series of “Making the Case” articles for all of the top prospects connected to the Rams. I will link each article to each other as this series develops.
The case for Omar Cooper Jr. with the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams do need at least one, but preferably two wide receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft. In an ideal world, they find an outside playmaker to replace Davante Adams, and a slot receiver who threatens more as a receiver than Jordan Whittington.
Omar Cooper Jr. can do both roles, albeit in a roundabout way. He’s a moveable chess piece who can handle duties outside and in the slot. Cooper does his best work after the catch, but he is strong against zone coverage underneath. He and Fernando Mendoza excelled at picking apart zone coverage.
His work as an on-ball outside receiver is a little sketchy, but he is a solid route-runner altogether. He’s not the best at beating press coverage or working the intermediate areas of the field, but it is an area he has the traits to improve at.
The case against Omar Cooper Jr. with the Los Angeles Rams
However, the fit with the Los Angeles Rams is a little sketchy in my mind. The best way for Cooper to have immediate success worthy of a first-round pick is to use him as a Z/slot. If Cooper can move around the formation and work off zone coverage and do damage after the catch, that’s his best usage right away.
The problem? The Rams already have that guy in Puka Nacua. You don’t need two Nacua’s in that role.
What the Rams do need is a high-level separator on the outside opposite of Nacua. There’s a reason why Davante Adams was such a coveted addition by Sean McVay. Adams saw press coverage more than 50% of the time last season, and had strong production beating it all season long. Adams is an on-ball perimeter wide receiver for the vast majority of snaps.
Cooper can develop into that, given enough time. And perhaps that development curve is a strong point in his favor over a player like Makai Lemon, who doesn’t have the traits needed to win outside like that.
Verdict
Omar Cooper Jr. is an intriguing playmaker who I grew to like and appreciate more and more as time went on. His fit with the Rams is easy to see, even if I’m hesitant to say it’s one I would welcome. If the Rams envision keeping Nacua in the long term, a selection of Cooper would mean banking on a fairly uphill developmental battle for Cooper to be an on-ball X receiver.
However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility there. Cooper could become a valuable asset, given time.
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