Philadelphia Eagles' 2025 undrafted free agent rookie from Tarleton State, Darius Cooper, is already making a solid case for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Cooper stole the show in Philly's first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals and finished leading all wide receivers, catching six of seven targets for 82 yards and one touchdown.
His head-turning performance earned him some very high praise from head coach Nick Sirianni following the team's 34-27 win.
"I mentioned him the other day. I think he has a lot of good tools, catches the ball obviously really well," Srianni said after the game. "Those are some tough catches that he made today, particularly on some of those shallows. That fourth-down shallow was like a perfect ball by Tanner with some traffic. I think they were in two-man and he just made a really nice catch there. He’s continuing to get better, learning all the different spots that he needs to play. I think he’s got an opportunity to do some good things. Obviously, you saw that out there today."
He also earned himself some more first-team reps with quarterback Jalen Hurts during Saturday's padded training camp practice, according to Philly reporter Thomas R. Petersen.
How good was WR Darius Cooper in his first preseason game?
He went straight to 1st team offense and is catching passes from Jalen Hurts today 🔥#Eagles— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) August 9, 2025
While Cooper has been playing well, he knows that he must stay consistent in order to keep building his case for a roster spot.
“Just consistency,” he said. “If the ball comes my way, I’ll catch it. I think I had a drop today but I had to learn in my career to not let drops get to you mentally. You gotta just keep playing. Even when you have a game like I had today, you just gotta keep stacking days. Never get too high, stay neutral throughout the whole process.”
His biggest competition right now is against Ainias Smith and Elijah Cooks, who are also having great offseasons.
