Who Should I Start? Jamari Thrash or Darius Cooper

Wednesday, July 2, 12:31 PM

ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi writes that Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jamari Thrash, who caught only three passes as a rookie in 2024 after being taken in the fifth round, took advantage of opportunities in an unproven receiver room during offseason workouts and established himself as a reliable option in the passing game. "He's had a really strong spring," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "He is here all the time working on his body. Very intelligent player, can line up in multiple positions which I think is valuable. And then he showed up, he's caught the ball well and you know the quarterbacks like how he gets open. He finds a way to get open versus zone, versus man." Since the 24-year-old isn't really an option on special teams, he's going to need to continue standing out in training camp and the preseason to win a spot on the 53-man roster heading into the regular season.

Sunday, January 4, 9:17 AM

Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper could handle a much larger workload than usual during Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Washington Commanders. Head coach Nick Sirianni indicated that he will rest several starters on Sunday, and although he didn't specifically list which players will be resting, it's fair to speculate that wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown could be among the group. If so, Cooper would likely step into the No. 2 wide receiver role behind Jahan Dotson. Cooper hasn't ascended higher than third on the depth chart this season, so we don't know exactly what his role would look like if he earns the start opposite Dotson. With that being said, he has flashed potential lately. He caught two passes for 29 yards on a 30% snap share in Week 15, and he caught one pass for four yards on a career-high 31% snap share just last Sunday. There's a strong chance that the 24-year-old rookie plays more than half of the snaps if Brown and Smith are sidelined, and that could give him low-end WR3/flex appeal in very deep leagues. Once the Eagles announce which starters are resting, managers could consider adding Cooper to be a desperation WR3/flex play in fantasy leagues with at least 14 teams.