Just earlier today, we noted the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers first-round picks. Every selection since at least 2010 has either come in for a pre-draft visit or had a decision-maker, general manager or head coach attend their Pro Day. History that is tangible, strong, and logical. It seems unbreakable. Why would a team use its first-round pick on a player they barely interacted with? Making exceptions seems silly and has been proven wrong before. If anyone is going to do it, though, it could be Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.
For two reasons that fall into the same camp. Pittsburgh has the resources to find out everything they need to know.
Thank two men for that. Wide receivers coach Adam Henry and senior offensive assistant Frank Cignetti Jr.
We’ve documented Henry’s ties to Cooper before. In 2022, Henry served as Indiana’s wide receivers coach, where he worked alongside a then-freshman Cooper. Cooper hardly saw the field, but those were formative years that paid off after Henry left. Former Steelers wide receiver Demarcus Ayers was also on the Indiana staff at the time, and in our February interview, he offered insight into that dynamic.
“Adam doesn’t get a lot of credit for the development of Omar because he hasn’t coached in the past few years. But a lot of things that Omar’s doing now were the things that we were instilling in him as a true freshman.”
“Omar really trusted Adam. I think Omar gained a lot of confidence early on by just seeing how Adam worked and how intentional he was with the guys. And then me being a young coach, just sticking by his side, basically reemphasizing what Adam was saying every single day in his ear to give him that confidence.”
Henry offers insight that even teams that brought Cooper in for visits couldn’t glean. How coachable is he? What’s his work ethic like? How does he respond to adversity? All the important questions Henry has first-hand knowledge of. Sure, Pittsburgh, or any team, could call up Indiana’s coaching staff and ask similar, but the current group is more inclined to tout Cooper positively. And they weren’t there for Cooper’s early years on campus. Henry will offer a fair and candid evaluation to give Pittsburgh the best information possible.
Frank Cignetti Jr. is another lifeline. Brother of current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, it’s easy to think those two can – and have – talked about Indiana’s deep pool of draft prospects. Curt doesn’t seem like the coach who sugarcoats to anyone, but he can be more honest and true to Frank than some outside coach he doesn’t know.
Even before considering the connections, Cooper is a clean prospect. Productive. Plus character. Well-known and tested. There isn’t much a team needs to dig into. Factor in Pittsburgh’s two unique connections, Cooper’s former coach and the brother of the team’s head coach, and the Steelers may have decided there was no need to bring Cooper in. Why have him sit in a room with Henry, a man he already knows, for the two to have conversations they had years ago?
Still, Cooper becoming the pick is a stretch. It breaks history, and on paper, there’s less evidence that the team will take him than there is for those hosted visits. Making the case for Cooper means squinting and spinning in a way we haven’t before. If Cooper breaks the mold and is the selection, it’ll be easy to explain why he’s the exception.