USA TODAY Makes Surprising Claim About Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper

The Denver Broncos have several "underrated" players. Is Jonathon Cooper the most underrated?

Oct 29, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) following his fumble recovery in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Broncos are kind of starting over. Call it a rebuild if you'd like, but there's definitely a youth movement afoot in the Mile High City.

However, the Broncos have a few strategically well-placed veterans across the roster. These vets, many of whom are also young, are being counted on by the Broncos to show the rookies and second-year guys the way.

One of those young veterans is rush linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who, after leading the Broncos in sacks last season, enters a contract year. As the team's reigning sack champ, it's safe to say that opponents won't be sleeping on Cooper, but according to USA TODAY's Doug Farrar, the former Ohio State stand-out is Denver's most underrated player.

Cooper had the same challenge early on in the NFL, as he once again had to break through limited reps to prove that he belonged. It all kicked in last season, as Cooper set career highs in sacks (nine) and total pressures (55) on 421 pass-rushing snaps. Eventually, Cooper tends to prove that he should be playing more often than he is, and he does it against the best possible competition.

- Doug Farrar

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There's an argument to be made on whether Cooper is actually the most underrated Bronco. Guys like defensive end Zach Allen, linebacker Alex Singleton, and right guard Quinn Meinerz might have something to say about it.

Technically speaking, Cooper finished wiht 8.5 sacks last season. That's how the NFL measures it and how it'll go down in the history books.

After the botched Randy Gregory/Frank Clark experiment imploded last summer, the Broncos turned to Cooper and a second-year Nik Bonitto to bail them out. Adding insult to injury, Baron Browning was unavailable for the first half of the season, which kept the onus on Cooper and Bonitto.

While it can't be said that either "exploded" onto the NFL scene, both Cooper and Bonitto exceeded expectations, combining for 16.5 sacks. Not bad for a pair of backups being thrust into starting jobs.

Fast forward to today and Cooper, at 26 years old, enters the final year of his contact. The Broncos prepared for a future without Cooper, possibly, by preemptively drafting Utah's Jonah Elliss in the third round this year.

Both Cooper and Browning enter a contract year, and while the Broncos have drafted potential replacements, there's nothing tends to motivate a player more than an uncertain financial future. Cooper has the potential to go out and earn himself tens of millions of dollars, and if he plays his cards right, that payday could come from the Broncos.

But he'll have to earn it. Even though a writer from the national perspective tapped Cooper as "most underrated" in Denver, the cat is out of the bag across the NFL. Opposing offenses are now well-aware of Cooper.

A double-digit sack season would likely break Cooper out of the under-the-radar perception in the national media, and it could make him a very, very rich man. If anyone deserves it, it's him — especially after nearly falling out of the 2021 NFL draft due to a heart condition discovered in the weeks prior.

The Broncos took a chance on Cooper in the seventh round, and he promptly underwent a procedure to correct his heart issue. From there, he's steadily worked hard to earn a greater role on defense, and last year, things finally came together for him.

Now it's time to build on that — and just in the nick of time. A contract year awaits...

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