The cons to drafting Jonathon Cooper
Jonathon Cooper loves these speed-to-power rushes
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
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) January 29, 2021
Cooper uses his hands well, has a strong punch, and is quick out of his stance. However, he doesn’t have the best bend on the edge and will not beat a tackle by getting low and turning the corner. He will need to be in a system early on that allows him to use twists, stunts, and gap penetration instead of being asked to win one-on-one by himself consistently.
Against the run, Cooper doesn’t set the edge as well or consistently enough to feel that he should be a three-down option right away. He has the agility and speed to get there, but his ability right now to hold up against the run where he can’t just hit a gap is a little low.
Cooper is a middle of the draft defensive end with a ceiling to be a three-down starter at some point. Finding a place where he can put his hand in the dirt and hit gaps quickly will help his ability to reach his ceiling. He would be great as a rotational pass rush specialist early on.
All Ohio State football players eligible for the 2021 NFL draft
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