Denver Broncos: Jonathon Cooper brings leadership to defense
The Denver Broncos already drafted one Ohio State Buckeyes defensive player at the bottom of the third round in linebacker Baron Browning. In the seventh round, they added his teammate, defensive end Jonathon Cooper.
After crushing day two of the 2021 NFL Draft, George Paton picked right up where he left off with his day three selections, adding a pair of safeties in Caden Sterns and Jamar Johnson in the fifth round before going back to the defensive side of the ball in the seventh.
Ohio State’s Jonathon Cooper is a defensive end who fits the bill of what the team has been looking for in terms of strong leadership, athletic players at their position.
Cooper, just like everyone else in the Denver Broncos’ 2021 NFL Draft class, has impressive athletic metrics as an edge player/defensive end.
At 6-foot-3, 253 pounds, Cooper will undoubtedly play a stand-up pass rusher role with the Denver Broncos, and he has the speed and explosiveness to be a factor.
Jonathon Cooper metrics
Jonathon Cooper was drafted with pick 239 of round 7 in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 7.61 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 328 out of 1371 DE from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/8uKTFKYy26 #RAS #Broncos pic.twitter.com/q31CcKfeVR
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 1, 2021
Obviously, Cooper’s physical strengths here are in the speed, strength, and agility departments. He’s not as explosive as other defensive ends, but he’s got some really strong pass rush moves and he showed that this year with a very good performance in the College Football Playoffs, carrying that over into the 2021 Senior Bowl.
Jonathon Cooper intrigues me more and more each time I watch him... @seniorbowl pic.twitter.com/ZeDFT2wQMV
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) April 12, 2021
Jonathon Cooper loves these speed-to-power rushes
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) January 29, 2021
Cooper is a no-nonsense rusher. Straight line attacks. Power rushes. Inside moves. Cooper isn’t looking to run around OTs - he wants to go through them!
Adrian Ealy had his hands full pic.twitter.com/iXtk3z3ahI
Start your week with a quick Jonathon Cooper reel.@JonathonCooper7 | @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/snW2tbfxFf
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) July 20, 2020
Make no mistake about it — this guy can absolutely play.
Not only that, but the fifth-year senior and team captain is the kind of guy you want helping glue your team together with his intangibles.
There’s so much he brings to the table and this is exactly what you’re looking for in the seventh round. Guys like this with some standout traits who come from big schools that are willing to work, play special teams, do what the coaches ask — those are the types of seventh-round picks that stick around.