Arrowhead Pride
The undrafted Oklahoma State tackle brings good size and a solid athletic profile to Kansas City.
Following the 2025 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs signed former Oklahoma State offensive tackle Dalton Cooper as an undrafted free agent.
Will he have what it takes to compete in the NFL? Let’s take a look.
A three-star recruit out of Prague, Oklahoma, Cooper began his college career at Texas State University. Quickly becoming the starting left tackle, he received multiple all-Sun Belt Conference nods.
After his junior season, Cooper transferred to Oklahoma State, where he was given All-Big 12 honors in his last two collegiate seasons as the Cowboys’ left tackle.
At 6 feet 5 and 323 pounds, Cooper has good size for the position — and his 33 1/2-inch arms make him a good fit for the Chiefs.
At his pro day, Cooper displayed his athletic ability and fluidity by recording solid measurements in the vertical and broad jumps. His solid 4.99-second 40-yard dash shows he is a well-rounded athlete — and his 1.78-second ten-yard split indicated good acceleration.
A smooth mover in pass protection, Cooper can mirror pass rushers and use good change-of-direction skills when redirecting them.
In pass protection, good offensive linemen can recover from a defender’s initial move, sticking with their blocks for extended periods. We see multiple instances of this in Cooper’s college film.
At Oklahoma State, Cooper primarily used jump and lateral sets to quickly get his hands on defensive linemen, thereby preventing them from reaching the backfield.
Cooper also has solid hands. In this play, he uses a solid snatch technique to put defenders in the dirt.
Cooper’s posture sets the table for his success. That starts with good core strength and a solid grasp of the fundamental movements of pass protection. Using a strong base with good ankle, knee and hip bend, Cooper’s posture — and keeping his hands tight — helps him to set his anchor and keep edge rushers at bay.
Cooper's quickness out of his stance also gives him lots of help with his jump sets. In Kansas City, he’ll have limited opportunities to use these — but his quick feet, solid hands and good base strength will serve him well as he learns how to play in the vertical pass protection sets that Kansas City uses.
In the running game, Cooper will need to improve at the point of attack, but his mobility should help him find success as a blocker at the second level — just as we see on this play.
Cooper’s solid athletic attributes should also make him a natural fit for the Chiefs' outside run and screen plays — and for those in which he’ll need to pull down the line of scrimmage.
A lower-body injury Cooper sustained in 2024 caused him to miss some of his final college season — and probably caused him to go undrafted, too. There is no guarantee he’ll make the roster...
