The Jets added three players during the opening round of April’s draft. Every member of that trio is now on the books.
New York agreed to terms with receiver Omar Cooper Jr. on Monday, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports. This is a four-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $17.5MM. The Jets will be able to keep Cooper under team control through 2030 via the fifth-year option.
As expected, New York addressed the pass rush with pick No. 2 by drafting edge defender David Bailey. That was followed by the selection of tight end Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16. The Jets entered Day 1 of the draft with a pair of picks, but they swung a trade with the 49ers to move up to No. 30. That deal allowed them to select Cooper, who capped off a four-year run at Indiana with a national championship last season.
Cooper redshirted as a freshman and then totaled a modest 18 catches in nine games as a sophomore. He added another 28 catches for 594 yards – good for a whopping 21.2 average – and seven touchdowns in 2024. After that impressive showing, his production skyrocketed with the Hoosiers’ addition of quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who transferred from California. While mostly working from the slot in 2025, Cooper amassed 69 grabs for 937 yards and 13 TDs to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors. He also forced 27 missed tackles, most among any receiver in this year’s draft class.
The belief is Cooper has the versatility to line up in the slot and on the outside in the pros. Either way, he will add some much-needed talent to a Jets receiving corps that was sorely lacking in that area in 2025. No. 1 receiver Garrett Wilson will return after missing 10 games with a shoulder injury. The Jets will also get a full season from Adonai Mitchell, who showed flashes after they acquired him from the Colts in November’s Sauce Gardner blockbuster. Cooper, Sadiq, Wilson, Mitchell, running back Breece Hall and tight end Mason Taylor should be new quarterback Geno Smith‘s top options in the passing game in 2026, and they could form a strong core of weapons for the foreseeable future.
With Cooper now under contract, fourth-round defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. is the Jets’ last unsigned pick. Here is their full eight-player class:
- Round 1, No. 2: David Bailey (EDGE, Texas Tech) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 16 (from Colts): Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 30 (from Broncos via Dolphins and 49ers): Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, Indiana) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 50 (from Lions): D’Angelo Ponds (CB, Indiana) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 103: Darrell Jackson Jr. (DT, Florida State)
- Round 4, No. 110 (from Bengals): Cade Klubnik (QB, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 188 (from Browns via Seahawks): Anez Cooper (G, Miami) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 228 (from Cowboys via Bills and Raiders): VJ Payne (S, Kansas State) (signed)
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.