Basketball On Turf: Eagles Big-Bodied WR Is Making Noise

A two-sport athlete at Atascadero High School in California, fledgling Eagles receiver Elijah Cooks steered toward football when deciding on the University of Nevada. 

Basketball wasn’t completely in the 6-foot-4 Cooks’ rearview mirror, however, when injuries popped up on the Wolfpack basketball team, Cooks served as the emergency replacement for a short period.

Then it was back to football and ultimately a trajectory toward the NFL, which included a final season at San Jose State when Cooks hauled in 69 receptions for 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to being named a First-Team All-Mountain West WR.

Cooks was an undrafted signing by Jacksonville after the 2023 draft and caught on, playing 11 games over the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Jaguars. He first signed with the Eagles to the practice squad during the team’s playoff run to a Super Bowl LIX championship in January and then agreed to come back on a futures deal.

His size, length, body control, and contested catch ability have stood out at Eagles’ training camp, and Cooks regards his basketball background as a big reason for that.

“I’ve always looked at that as a strength. I used to play basketball. So going up and getting those 50-50 balls is kind of just my specialty, you feel me?” he said after practice Friday. "That’s what I did in college, and what I’ve tried to do in the league.”

Former college basketball star Antonio Gates is set to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend for his work as a tight end with the Chargers, and is a player Cooks has looked up to while growing up in California. 

“I’ve watched Antonio Gates talk about it,” Cooks said. “He just said playing basketball your whole life, you go against bigger dudes. I’m used to playing against bigger guys, trying to create space against bigger guys. 

"Bringing it out [to the football field] helps me create space against guys who are hella fast like [Eagles cornerback] Adoree’ Jackson."

Backup quarterback Dorian Thompaon-Robinson expressed that Cooks understands how to use his frame as an advantage.

“His eyes, his big body ability, he definitely knows how to use it and go up top for the ball and kind of shed defenders that way,” Thompson-Robinson said.

“You gotta go out there and attack the ball, and be like you’re getting a rebound,” Cooks said. “Really 50-50 balls are who wants it more? Who wants to come down with it? I always want to come down with those. I look at them like 70-30 balls.”