Elijah Cooks

Elijah Stephen Cooks (born October 13, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League he played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack before transferring to the San Jose State Spartans and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jaguars after the 2023 NFL draft.

Elijah Cooks

No. 86 – Philadelphia Eagles
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	(1998-10-13) October 13, 1998 (age 26) Santa Maria, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Atascadero (Atascadero, California)
College:	Nevada (2017–2021) San Jose State (2022)
NFL draft:	2023: undrafted
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2023–2024) Philadelphia Eagles (2024–present)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-MW (2022)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Born in Santa Maria, California, Cooks grew up there and initially attended St. Joseph High School, where he played football and basketball.^[1][2] Midway through his tenth grade year, Cooks moved to Atascadero and transferred to Atascadero High School.^[3]

As a senior at Atascadero in 2016, Cooks tallied 56 catches for 966 yards and 15 touchdowns, winning the Pac 5 Offensive Player of the Year award.^[4]

College career

Nevada

Cooks committed to play football for the University of Nevada at Reno on February 1, 2017.^[5] He chose Nevada over Hawaii, Wyoming, Fresno State, and San Jose State, the team he later played for.^[6]

In five seasons at Nevada from 2017 to 2021, Cooks had 115 receptions for 1,478 yards and 18 touchdowns.^[1] Having played 35 games from 2017 to 2019, Cooks sat out all of 2020 due to a shoulder injury.^[6][7] In 2021, Cooks played in three games before a season-ending injury.^[6]

Cooks also briefly joined the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team in the 2017–18 season as a temporary replacement for an injured player.^[3] Cooks played four games, averaging one minute per game.^[8]

San Jose State

After five years with Nevada, Cooks moved on to San Jose State University as a graduate transfer.^[9] It's at San Jose State where he had his most productive year, garnering selection to the first-team All-MW.^[10]

College statistics

Season	Games		Receiving				Rushing
	GP	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
Nevada Wolf Pack
2017	2	2	23	11.5	0	0	0	0	0
2018	11	22	348	15.8	6	1	40	40	1
2019	13	76	926	12.2	8	0	0	0	0
2020	1	2	24	12.0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	3	13	157	12.1	4	0	0	0	0
San Jose State Spartans
2022	12	69	1076	15.6	10	0	0	0	0
Career	42	184	2554	13.9	28	1	40	40.0	1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	33 in (0.84 m)	9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m)	4.51 s	1.62 s	2.65 s	4.25 s	7.10 s	37.5 in (0.95 m)	10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)	16 reps
All values from Pro Day[11]

Jacksonville Jaguars

After not being drafted in the 2023 NFL draft, Cooks signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2023.^[12][13][14] On August 29, 2023, the Jaguars announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster.^[15][16][17]

On August 27, 2024, Cooks was waived by the Jaguars and re-signed to the practice squad.^[18][19]

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 14, 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Cooks to the practice squad.^[20] He signed a reserve/future contract on February 14, 2025.^[21]