Denver Broncos 2021 draft: Analyzing instant impact for every pick
7 (239). Jonathon Cooper, EDGE, Ohio State
Not every player in the 2021 NFL Draft was under-drafted, but it’s safe to say that Jonathon Cooper was probably picked a bit lower than he should have been.
NFL Network’s top draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had Cooper ranked as the 120th overall prospect in the class. Some might think, well, that’s just a one-off.
No, Pro Football Focus also had Cooper as the 122nd overall player in the class and had him graded as one of the best pass rushers in the entire country last season.
Highest pass-rush grades in the Big Ten last season:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 12, 2021
1. Jonathon Cooper, OSU - 90.4
2. Haskell Garrett, OSU - 88.9
3. Kwity Paye, Michigan - 87.1
4. Zach Harrison, OSU - 86.6 pic.twitter.com/95WZ1zKI5L
Cooper saved his best for last at Ohio State after being mostly buried on the depth chart his first few years on campus and then suffering an injury in 2019.
In 2020, he played some of his best games against Ohio State’s toughest competition and really put some good stuff out there against some more great competition at the Senior Bowl.
He’s got some explosiveness to him and is really strong in the upper body, proving that by throwing up 28 bench press reps at the Ohio State pro day.
Just like his Ohio State teammate Baron Browning, Cooper was a five-star high school recruit and obviously has tremendous talent. I think he’s a step or two (at least) ahead of where Derrek Tuszka was coming in from North Dakota State as a rookie in 2020.
With that being the case, I wouldn’t be shocked in the least to see Cooper win a job in training camp and get himself a spot in the rotation off the edge.