Darius Cooper, an undrafted wide receiver from Tarleton State, has secured a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles’ 53-man roster. Cooper met with Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni ahead of the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline, where he learned he made the team.
“I had peace about it,” Cooper said on Wednesday.
Cooper described his meeting with team leadership: “They called me up and (we) had a great conversation,” he said. “I was very happy, very excited, very grateful to have this opportunity to play for this organization.”
After starting as a zero-star recruit and playing limited snaps in his first two seasons at Tarleton State, Cooper’s college career took off in 2022 when he recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He chose to remain at Tarleton rather than transfer to a larger program and led all college football wide receivers with 1,450 yards in 2024.
Despite these achievements, Cooper was not selected in the draft but impressed during offseason workouts and preseason games. His performance included an 82-yard touchdown in his preseason debut. Now the only undrafted free agent to make the Eagles’ initial roster this year, Cooper views this accomplishment as just one step.
“(It’s) definitely the start of the journey,” he said. “I know God has something big planned for me, for my family, for this organization, and I’m just excited to ride along.”
Cooper joins a group of Eagles receivers that includes A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, and John Metchie III—all former high draft picks—while aiming to contribute both on offense and special teams.
Head coach Nick Sirianni commented on Cooper’s role: “I think that this guy is a really strong football player who can do some of the dirty work stuff for us as far as our blocking, as far as special teams, as far as good speed to be able to clear things out,” Sirianni said. “And really when you have a guy like that, there’s opportunities for him as well in the pass game that mesh off of some of those things. I’m looking forward to watching him continue to develop.”
Reflecting on recent events, Cooper added: “Definitely grateful,” he said. “Definitely appreciate the journey. But we’re going to keep moving forward.”
