Is A Breakout Second Half Coming For Omar Cooper Jr?

A.J. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1 and returned in Week 6 but did not look great upon return, contrasting sharply with Omar Cooper Jr.'s impressive Week 6 performance despite Cooper Jr. also suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 1. Matt Harmon notes that while everything is not equal between the two situations, the difference in performance trajectories is notable.

Amari Cooper is expected to line up at Z position in two-receiver sets when Eddie Mitchell returns. The Jets want to play a good bit of two-receiver sets because they have Mason Taylor from the 2025 draft and Canyon Saddiq from the 2024 draft, which will impact Cooper's role and usage.

Matt Harmon mentions Breece Hall as part of the Jets' offensive depth, noting the team is 'three deep at wide receiver' and has a credible running back in Hall. Harmon frames the Jets as having one of the deepest offenses in the NFL if they shore up the offensive line, with Hall contributing to that depth.

Matt Harmon identifies Cornell Tate as a positive dynasty rookie draft hit, noting he's coming off a good week and is playing good football in a year where early rookie draft picks have not yielded many hits.

Matt Harmon describes Garrett Wilson as 'a number one receiver a stud' and 'a top 10 type of talent' with really good chemistry with Geno Smith, who has been pushing the ball downfield effectively to Wilson. Harmon notes Wilson is a really good player with impressive wins at the catch point, though his consistency has been a bit up and down at times during his career. In Week 6 specifically, despite having a strong season overall, Wilson did not have a productive game because he drew shadow coverage from Christian Gonzalez, which created opportunity for Omar Cooper Jr. to emerge as the receiving option. Going forward, Wilson is expected to line up at X position in two-receiver sets when Eddie Mitchell returns, with the Jets wanting to play a good bit of two-receiver sets because they have Mason Taylor from the 2025 draft and Canyon Saddiq from the 2024 draft.

Isaiah Williams was ahead of Omar Cooper Jr. on the depth chart in the first preseason game, but Matt Harmon explicitly dismisses this as irrelevant to Cooper Jr.'s fantasy outlook based on tape evidence.

Matt Harmon flags Makai Lemon as having inconsistent tape performance and a lack of box score production in dynasty rookie draft context, positioning him as a concern relative to other rookie prospects. Harmon notes the tape has been shaky and production hasn't materialized.

Matt Harmon identifies Omar Cooper Jr. as a breakout candidate with a Week 6 performance that impressed: 7 targets, 6 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD, 3.55 yards per route run, 37% air yard share. Despite 79.6% slot usage in his prospect profile, Cooper Jr. was deployed across multiple personnel packages (22% of snaps in 12 personnel, 21% in 21 personnel), with four of six catches and his TD coming on plays with two or fewer receivers on the field. Harmon highlighted his strength with the football in his hands, quality man coverage wins, and catch-point ability in contested situations, particularly on a post route TD where he ran through zone coverage perfectly. Cooper Jr. showed excellent chemistry with Geno Smith, with both his TD and a called-back TD coming on scramble drills where Smith escaped pressure on vertical shots downfield. Harmon notes Cooper only caught 29% of his passes in space—diverging from his prospect profile strength in run-after-catch—and was instead deployed vertically downfield, which he was also strong at as a prospect. Harmon expressed high conviction, calling Cooper Jr. 'one of the most impressive prospects' he's ever talked to, praising his toughness, physicality, and intelligence. With 70% contested catch rate as a prospect, consistent hands, and route intelligence (evidenced by a well-executed pivot route against man coverage), Harmon expects more production on out-breaking routes (his best charted route and stated favorite) and improved curl/hitch routes as the season progresses. With Garrett Wilson drawing shadow coverage from Christian Gonzalez, Harmon sees multiple ways to get Cooper going. Harmon believes Cooper 'is going to be awesome' and projects him to 'put it in the box score here the rest of the way,' positioning him as a dynasty rookie draft hit in a year with limited early hits. Harmon notes that Jets GM Joe Douglas was 'infatuated' with Cooper Jr.'s profile.