One of the best parts of NFL training camp is watching a depth piece turn into something nobody expected. In Philadelphia, that player right now is Darius Cooper — and the buzz around him got louder this week.
PHLY’s Bo Wulf made the boldest case yet for Cooper’s emerging role, posting on X that the second-year receiver could be in line for a significant Week 1 workload. “The conversation has changed,” Wulf said. “Last week it was, ‘OK, Darius Cooper is on this team?’ He’s going to make this team. Darius Cooper has been the best receiver on the team over the course of training camp.”
Wulf didn’t stop there, adding that Cooper isn’t better than DeVonta Smith but that Smith hasn’t been healthy, and that with rookie Makai Lemon also sidelined, there’s a real chance Cooper plays close to 80% of Philadelphia’s offensive snaps in Week 1.
The injuries opening the door
That framing lines up with what Philadelphia’s coaching staff has said publicly. Smith and Lemon both went down with hamstring injuries in early August that the team has called minor but has still managed cautiously, keeping both out of practice with no firm return timetable as of this week. For a rookie like Lemon, missing this much install time during his first NFL camp is a real setback regardless of how the injury is officially labeled.
Cooper isn’t the only Eagle benefiting from the absences. Dontayvion Wicks has had a strong summer of his own, and Nick Sirianni has drawn comparisons between Wicks and veteran Keenan Allen. But Wulf’s read is that Wicks has had inconsistent stretches — “peaks and valleys,” as he put it — while Cooper has been steady every single day with Jalen Hurts throwing to him.
A quiet rookie year, a loud second camp
Cooper’s path here has been unusual. He signed with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent out of Tarleton State in 2025 and made the 53-man roster off a strong preseason, but his rookie regular season was modest by design — 11 targets, nine catches, and 92 yards across 13 games, playing just 26% of Philadelphia’s offensive snaps.
| Category | 2025 Rookie Season |
|---|---|
| Games | 13 |
| Targets | 11 |
| Receptions | 9 |
| Receiving Yards | 92 |
| Offensive Snap Share | 26% |
This camp has been a different story. Multiple independent Philly beat writers have flagged Cooper as a standout well before Wulf’s comments. Bleeding Green Nation noted Cooper making highlight-reel grabs across several separate practices, while the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that when NFL Network asked Jalen Hurts which receivers had stood out behind Smith, Hurts named Cooper specifically, praising his physical, strong-hands game and his growth heading into Year 2.
Following a pattern the Eagles know well
Cooper’s rise shares a lot with another Philadelphia success story unfolding at the same time. Offensive lineman Willie Lampkin, an undrafted free agent who missed his entire rookie season with injuries, has become one of the standout names of this camp too, drawing praise from Sirianni for his versatility at both center and guard. Howie Roseman’s front office has developed a reputation for finding contributors after the draft has ended, and this summer looks like it’s producing two more examples at once.
None of this locks in Cooper’s role once the regular season starts. Smith remains Philadelphia’s clear No. 1 receiver when healthy, and Lemon, a first-round pick out of USC, is expected to be featured heavily once he’s cleared. But if the absences stretch into September, or even if they don’t, Cooper has put himself in position to be more than camp filler for a team that just went to a Super Bowl.
