Who Should I Start? Xavier Smith or Darius Cooper

Sunday, August 23, 9:26 AM

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper keeps stacking good days in a receiver room where there isn't much room to spare. Cooper caught three passes for 44 yards in Saturday's 24-21 loss to New England, with gains of 25 and 13 yards from Andy Dalton. The 25-yarder came on a crossing route where he broke contact, while the 13-yard grab moved the chains on fourth down. He also led Philadelphia with two catches for 21 yards in the preseason opener. Camp has looked similar. Cooper made multiple contested catches from Jalen Hurts on August 7, then beat Kobee Minor on a go route during the August 19 joint practice with New England. The current depth chart still lists him behind Dontayvion Wicks, and that's the problem for redraft. Cooper caught only nine passes for 92 yards as a rookie, while Philadelphia has plenty of other options at receiver. Still, five catches for 65 yards through two preseason games and a good camp are enough to move his stock up. He's a deeper-league name for now, with standard-league relevance dependent on climbing the depth chart.