‘Just having peace' — How Darius Cooper beat the odds and became an Eagle

Just having peace' - How Darius Cooper beat the odds and became an Eagle originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It seemed like he belonged from the day he stepped into the building.

Even though he played at an obscure FCS college, wasn't drafted and was a roster long shot.

How does a 23-year-old kid from Tarleton State just show up in the NFL and seem comfortable and at ease?

Just having peace," Darius Cooper said after practice Wednesday. Staying neutral, you know? When the opportunity presents itself, take full advantage of it. Make a mistake, next play. Make a great play, next play. And you've just got to keep stacking days like that."

Cooper pulled off a rarity Tuesday when he made the Eagles' roster as an undrafted rookie wide receiver.

He's the first undrafted rookie receiver to spend training camp with the Eagles and make the 53-man roster since Hank Baskett in 2006. A few others have played as undrafted rookies - Chad Hall in 2010, Paul Turner in 2016, Britain Covey in 2022 - but all were initially released before the final 53 was set.

Cooper did it by outplaying guys like Terrance Marshall, a former second-round pick; early camp standout Elijah Cooks; and last year's fifth-round pick Ainias Smith.

I feel like I did OK," Cooper said. Could have done some things better. ... Had a pretty good game in the first preseason game, but you got to stay neutral through this whole process. You can't get too high, can't get too low. You've got to stay neutral."

On a team with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson and Dallas Goedert, Cooper isn't going to go out there and get a bunch of targets right off the bat. He may not even get any reps on offense some weeks.

So he knows he has to be a complete player if he's going to remain on the roster.

That means blocking in the run game. It means playing special teams. It means doing the dirty work" that Nick Sirianni referred to on Tuesday.

All things he didn't do during his five years in Stephenville, Texas.

Yeah, whatever the team needs for me to do, I'm going to do it 110 percent," he said. Whether that's on offense, whether that's on special teams.

Definitely (need) to grow every day. Just getting the extra work in when it comes to that, different techniques and everything. So we got the coaches, we got the staff to help me with that. And we're going to continue to succeed.

Just every day, you've got to keep getting better. You can't get complacent. Keep putting the work in every day."

Talk about adjustments. Cooper was never even in a huddle in college.

Coming from the school I was at, we did hand signals and didn't have to hear a play out of the huddle and go line up," he said. Just got to continue to work on that."

What seemed like such a long shot not too long ago is now reality, but Cooper did have a plan B. Becoming a physical therapist.

That's my goal," he said. If I have a long career, if I have a short career, I'm definitely going back to school to get my doctorate in physical therapy."

But there's a lot of football to be played before that happens.

For the record, the last undrafted rookie to catch a pass for the Eagles was Bryce Treggs, who caught three in 2016.The last to catch 10 or more passes as a rookie was Chad Hall, who caught 11 in 2010.The most catches in a season by an Eagles undrafted rookie is 29 by Dick Humbert in 1941 and the most yards is Baskett's 464 in 2006.

Definitely grateful," Cooper said. Definitely appreciate the journey. But we're going to keep moving forward.

Stay consistent. Just stay consistent and just continue to work hard with my brothers for this organization.

You have to work hard. You'vegot to put the extra 500 shots in. Every day, you've got to be consistent.

But it's more than football, at the end of the day. It's about connecting with people and just having great relationships. And being in this organization, I'm just very grateful to continue that."