Texas A&M Football Player Ranks as 20th Overall Prospect on Draft Guru’s Big Board

Edgerrin Cooper Ranks as 20th Overall Prospect on Draft Guru’s Board; Will Texas A&M Football See Him Picked in First Round?

The story of the 2023 Texas A&M football season has lots of ups and downs, but one of the biggest bright spots for the Aggies over the previous year was the explosion onto the scene of linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Cooper had shown flashes in previous years, but the season he put together in 2023 caught the eye of the nation—even if he did get snubbed for the Butkus award.

It looks like that attention he garnered is beginning to pay off, as hype around him is growing headed into draft season. Aggie fans felt confident that Cooper had played himself into a solid day 2 selection—but could he end up going even higher? At least one draft guru thinks so. 

Daniel Jeremiah, an NFL media analyst writing for nfl.com, recently published his first Big Board for draft season, and Cooper comes in as the 20th player in the whole set of rankings. Here’s what Jeremiah had to say about Cooper as a prospect:

“Cooper is a long, rangy linebacker with excellent speed and coverage ability. Against the pass, he is very smooth in his drops, playing with vision and awareness. He is very comfortable in man coverage and has plenty of speed to carry tight ends up the seam. He is an explosive blitzer and has shown the ability to separate the quarterback from the ball. Against the run, he is quick to fill in the hole and displays stopping power as a tackler. He will have some fly-by missed tackles when in lateral pursuit. Overall, Cooper is an instinctive and explosive prospect who generates a bunch of splash plays. He's ready to start right away, and I believe his best football is still ahead of him.”

That’s some high praise for Coop. As pro days, all-star games, and the Combine are still ahead, he has a chance to raise his stock even higher. There’s at least one team picking in the back half of the first round that’s in search of a reliable, gifted linebacker: the Dallas Cowboys. Could he end up in the Metroplex after a first-round selection? It’s certainly possible.

That Cooper is being discussed in such terms is a testament to the kind of season he was able to put together as a part of this defense for Texas A&M football. He’s earned everything that’s coming his way here over the next couple of months, and I can’t wait to see how high he rises—not only in the draft order, but also when he begins play as a pro.