Jonathon Cooper has impressed as a depth player for the Denver Broncos for the first two years of his career. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 7th round of the 2021 NFL Draft and found a way to see significant NFL snaps in both of his first two seasons.

The time on the field has allowed him to show his ability to flash as a young edge player while donning the orange and blue with 4.5 career sacks, 6 TFLs, and 14 QHs in his 2 years seeing less than 50% of the snaps in both years. He’s also been a contributor on special teams seeing over 60% of the special teams snaps in his career with the Broncos.

Height: 6’4” | Weight: 257 pounds | Age: 25 years old

Experience: 3 years | College: Ohio State

How he fits with the Broncos

Cooper has always been a player that screamed potential. Being drafted in the 7th round, he’s the kind of player that needs some work to get right for NFL excellence. The Broncos are still a team where Cooper has a ton of opportunity given how shaky and injury-ridden their edge starters have been. He’s used his quick thinking and play-reading ability to get himself in the right spots reliably with his time on the field of play.

The big step that Cooper needs to take is to show a higher competency in getting home on. His effort and technique consistently earn him in the frame to make the play, but he’s not always been able to get the finish.

His ability to be a solid backup player for the Broncos is well-established. He also is a solid special teams player who has shown his ability to help the team get the dirty work done in the least popular phase of the game.

Final Word

Jonathon Cooper is on a cheap contract for the Broncos and has shown his ability to compete at the NFL level. That being said, it is all cap savings if the Broncos choose to go another direction.

Cooper only loses his job if some of the young guns in training camp are able to show a higher level of consistent play with an upside that Cooper can’t match. I like what I’ve seen from Cooper in the 2 seasons he’s been with the team. He definitely belongs on the NFL field of play given his ability, team-friendly contract situation, youth, and ability to avoid the injury bug.