Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has received an intriguing NFL comparison before the draft.
Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in April, the Indiana Hoosiers have a few players being talked about quite heavily.
Most notably, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. However, there is another expected first-round pick from the Hoosiers that is starting to garner much-deserved recognition.
Omar Cooper Jr. was one of Mendoza's favorite targets at the wide receiver position. Most mock drafts recently have had him being a first-round pick in the 20's.
With that being said, one NFL Draft analyst has also provided an intriguing comparison for Cooper.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com has shared that he believes the Indiana wide receiver compares favorably to Washington Commanders wideout Deebo Samuel.
Here's what Zierlein had to say about Cooper in his breakdown:
"Big, strong target whose two-year rise is bolstered by translatable tape. While he was a full-time slot receiver in 2025, Cooper has played outside, as well. He can stem and drive past press with his strength. He has potent early acceleration to climb past nickelbacks into top position to challenge deep," Zierlein wrote.
"His routes lack polish and he has average in-and-out quickness at break-points, but he’s rugged once the ball is in his hands. His ability to add yards after contact could earn Cooper more carries than we saw from him at Indiana. Fighting for catch space and blocking for the running game are areas where he needs improvement. Cooper is an ascending slot bully with Day 2 value.
Throughout the course of the 2025 college football season, Cooper ended up catching 69 passes for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns. He played all three seasons of his college career with the Hoosiers, totaling 115 receptions for 1,798 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Quite a few teams could use a wide receiver with his skill-set. A couple of options that have been mentioned as potential destinations for Cooper are the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers.
It will be interesting to see what the 2026 NFL Draft has in store for Cooper and the rest of the Indiana prospects hoping to be selected. For now, Cooper is starting to become a much bigger name in the national media.