Kansas City Chiefs Player Profile: Marcus Cooper
The NFL regular season is right around the corner and with that, KC Kingdom is providing you with a player profile up until week one kick off. Today’s featured player is cornerback Marcus Cooper.
How did Marcus Cooper end up as a Kansas City Chief?
Cooper played college football at Rutgers and was a seventh round selection by the 49ers in 2013. The 49ers cut Cooper during their final roster cuts and that’s when the Chiefs scooped him up.
2013 stats
Most seventh round picks don’t come in and make an impact right away (or at all for that matter), but Cooper spent a lot of time out on the field for the Chiefs during his rookie season. He played in every game and started six games. Cooper totaled 42 tackles, 21 defended passes, three interceptions, and one forced fumble (which he also recovered and scored a touchdown with).
Cooper’s 2013 stats were promising especially for a late round pick. He was most definitely a good pick up for Kansas City. Cooper came in and played hard when Brandon Flowers went down with an injury earlier on in the season. He was also the recipient of the Mack Lee Award for being deemed the most productive rookie on the Chiefs’ roster.
Overall
Some positions on the team are pretty set in stone when it comes to who will start next year, but not cornerback. Cooper will have his work cut out for him in order to earn a starting job for the 2014 season.
First, there’s Flowers. There are a lot of different rumors circulating out there about Flowers and whether or not he’ll return to Kansas City this season. If Flowers doesn’t return to Kansas City, Cooper more than likely will get the nod to start in his absence.
Then there’s Sean Smith, who was recently arrested. Smith might miss playing time as a result of his arrest, but we’re waiting to hear more of what will happen.
Ron Parker is also a decent corner for the team and could look to be a starter in 2014. Parker took the field with the first team during OTAs on Tuesday (even with Smith being present) so he’s definitely an option at starter.
The Chiefs also drafted Rice cornerback Phillip Gaines in the third round of this year’s draft. Gaines might not be an immediate starter, but he will probably get a fair amount of playing time.
Cooper will most definitely have to prove himself during OTAs and the preseason if he wants a starting job this year. A lot of it will depend on Flowers’ future in Kansas City, but even then Cooper needs to step up his game during the off season and show that he’s got the skills to be a starting cornerback for Kansas City.
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(Editor’s Update – Cooper’s stock may have just gone up this afternoon, with the release of Brandon Flowers.)
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