The Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver room is starting to take shape, and the pecking order below DeVonta Smith is becoming clearer by the day. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Dontayvion Wicks is poised for a significant role in the Eagles offense this season, noting that multiple people within the organization have brought up Wicks’ name and his impressive play without being asked.

That tracks with everything we’ve been saying for weeks now. Wicks has emerged as the clear-cut wide receiver 2 on this roster. With Makai Lemon’s injury and all the other moving parts in that room, Wicks has separated himself.

But here’s the thing. The winner of Eagles training camp might not even be Wicks. It might be a guy nobody is talking about nationally.

Darius Cooper is turning heads

Darius Cooper, according to all the Eagles reporters on the ground, is having one heck of a training camp. On Monday alone, he had five catches across three different sets, and they’ve all been different types of plays. Digs, outs, crossers, a go route. The reporters are raving about Cooper’s strong hands and route-running ability. Somebody even compared the way he catches the ball and runs after the catch to A.J. Brown. That’s high praise for an undrafted receiver out of Tarleton State last year.

Right now, Darius Cooper is the Eagles’ winner at training camp this season. No, he’s not going to leapfrog Wicks into the No. 2 spot. That belongs to Dontayvion Wicks, and Fowler’s report only reinforces that. But when you think about all the other names competing for reps in that receiver room, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson trying to fight back from that brutal injury last year, Cooper has separated himself from the pack. Some of the reporters are even saying they think he’s going to be the top guy out of the slot, your third receiver. That’s how good he’s been.

Cooper’s emergence is impactful for Philly

If you go back to camp last year, Cooper had an amazing training camp then too. Undrafted, nobody knew who this guy was. And then he got hurt early in the season, landed on IR, never had a chance to carve out a role. This year is different. With Makai Lemon’s injury creating concern and opportunity in equal measure, Cooper is exactly what the Eagles need. He’s stepping up in a big way at the perfect time.

I believe, based on everything we’ve heard from the beat writers and the organization itself, that Cooper is going to have a legitimate role in this Eagles’ offense. He does a lot of things well. He’s 5-foot-11, the same size as Lemon, so he can slot into a similar role within the scheme. The versatility he’s showing across different route concepts tells you this isn’t just a camp body making a couple splash plays. This is a guy who understands how to get open in multiple ways.