Jonathan Cooper was not the primary compensation in the New England Patriots’ trade with the Arizona Cardinals, but he has the potential to be a valuable throw-in.
The Patriots sent Chandler Jones to the Cardinals on Tuesday for Cooper and a 2016 second-round draft pick. The second-round pick, which gives the Patriots back-to-back selections at 60th and 61st overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, is the biggest prize in the deal. New England needed another high draft pick, and it only would have received a 2018 third-round compensatory selection if Jones walked in free agency next offseason.
But Cooper has plenty of upside at guard. He was the seventh overall draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, although his career hasn’t exactly gone as planned. The 26-year-old missed all of his rookie year when he broke his leg during the preseason. He played just 10 games in 2014, starting two at left guard, and 14 games in 2015, starting nine at right guard. The Cardinals were in the process of converting him to center this offseason.
Cooper also is nearly as athletic as Patriots left guard Shaq Mason. Cooper ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2013 with a 7.78-second three-cone, 4.84-second short shuttle, 9-foot broad jump and 27-inch vertical leap. The Patriots could have one of the most athletic offensive lines in the NFL next season if they pair Cooper with Mason at guard, plus Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer at offensive tackle and either David Andrews or Bryan Stork at center.
The Patriots’ rushing attack was very successful with an athletic lineup along the offensive front last season before Dion Lewis tore his ACL. Lewis is a smaller, shifter back and pairs well with a smaller, more athletic offensive line.
At the very least, the Patriots will have competition and depth at guard next season with Cooper, Mason, Tre’ Jackson and Josh Kline returning. New England’s offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Tom Brady at the end of last season, and it had trouble opening holes for bigger running backs LeGarrette Blount and Steven Jackson.
The addition of Cooper, plus adding offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia back into the mix, can only help fix the unit’s struggles.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
