Omar Cooper Jr. becomes third Jet to win Rookie of the Week in 6 weeks

Darren Mougey's 2026 draft class continues to look really, really good. And despite being just six weeks into the season, they're starting to rack up the accolades to prove it. Omar Cooper Jr. is the latest to haul in some hardware.

The 30th overall pick in this past April's draft has won Pespi's Rookie of the Week award, with the belt coming back to Florham Park, New Jersey, for the third time in six games this season. Cooper was up against the likes of his fellow teammate David Bailey, Carnell Tate, and Germie Bernard.

Cooper joins both Bailey and Kenyon Sadiq as Jets rookies to win Rookie of the Week in 2026. Sadiq earned his after a 100-yard game in Week 3, and Bailey got his for a three-sack outing in Week 5. Cooper, coming off his own 100-yard outing against the New England Patriots, definitely earned it.

Since 2021, Jets rookies have won the award 19 times, second most behind only the Washington Commanders. Something tells me there will be a few more belts headed to the Jets facility before the season comes to a close.

New York Jets' 2026 draft class keeps looking better

It was incredibly exciting for the Jets to get Cooper back in the mix heading into Week 6, but there likely weren't many fans expecting the offensive output they got from their recent first-round draft pick.

The former Indiana standout was targeted seven times, and hauled in six receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, and that's including a 48-yard touchdown grab on a deep pass from Geno Smith.

Cooper should've even had another touchdown early in the game, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Tim Patrick wiped it off the board.

Regardless, in only two appearances this season, Cooper has proven to be a legitimate weapon in the Jets' passing game. He's averaging 19 yards per reception, a mark that currently ranks fourth in the league, albeit, with a small sample size.

Cooper's 100-yard receiving game is also only the third time a rookie has gone over the century mark this season. The other two? His teammate, Sadiq, and Tennessee Titans rookie Carnell Tate.

Funnily enough, this is the third time in Jets history that a rookie tandem has each gone over the 100-yard receiving mark in a game in the same season. The first time came in 1970 when Rich Caster and Eddie Bell made their debuts, and the second time came in 2022 with Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.

Regardless, this Jets rookie class continues to instill hope in fans that a turnaround is coming. And there's still plenty of football left for the two to continue their tantalizing seasons.

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