Early years

A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, Cooper attended John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, where he played football and competed in wrestling and track. He played football as a guard, but also defensive end for the Hoggard Vikings. In his senior year, he paved the way for three players who rushed for 600 yards or more, while Hoggard claimed the state 4-A championship with a 16-0 record. Cooper was voted the conference's player of the year as an offensive lineman. In addition to football, he was also an standout heavyweight wrestler and threw the shot put on the track & field team, recording a top-throw of 14.58 meters (47 ft 2 in) at the 2008 NCHSAA 4A East Regional, where he placed 3rd.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Cooper was listed as the No. 21 offensive guard prospect in his class.

College career

Cooper enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and played for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team from 2008 to 2012. After redshirting his initial year at North Carolina, he then started 10 games at left guard and saw action on 579 snaps. He sat out the Connecticut, Georgia Tech and Virginia games due to an ankle injury. Still, Cooper recorded a team-best 40 knock-down blocks on the season and owned a 73-percent grade. He was named to the All-ACC freshman team by The Sporting News.

In his sophomore season, Cooper started all 13 games in the regular season and played a team-high 875 snaps. For the second straight year, he led the Tar Heels in knock-down blocks with 55 on the year. Cooper graded out at 83 percent for the season, tied with James Hurst for the best mark on the team. Against William & Mary, he played all 71 snaps and graded out at a season-best 92 percent with seven knock-downs. Cooper earned second-team All-ACC honors at offensive guard.

As a junior, Cooper started all 13 games at left guard. He saw action on 864 plays and graded out at 86 percent for the season, good for second on the team. He earned second-team All-ACC honors, and along with left tackle James Hurst, was part of the first Carolina offensive line tandem to earn All-ACC honors since 1993.

In 2012, Cooper paved the way for the ACC's leading rusher Giovani Bernard, and was a consensus All-American selection.

Professional career

2013 NFL draft

Cooper was widely considered one of the top guard prospects in the 2013 NFL draft, along with Chance Warmack. After the NFL Combine, Sports Illustrated projected him as the No. 10 overall selection. North Carolina had not seen one of their offensive lineman taken in the first round since tackle Harris Barton was drafted in the first round (No. 22 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in 1987. Cooper was drafted seventh overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 NFL draft. He is the highest selected offensive guard since Jim Dombrowski in 1986 NFL draft.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 2 1⁄8 in	311 lb	33 in	10 1⁄4 in	5.07 s			4.84 s	7.78 s	27 in	9 ft 0 in	35 reps

Arizona Cardinals

Cooper was signed to a four-year, $14.55 million contract on July 28, 2013. On August 24, 2013, in the third preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, Cooper broke his left fibula. On August 30, the Cardinals placed him on IR.

New England Patriots

On March 15, 2016, Cooper and a second-round draft pick were traded to the New England Patriots for defensive end Chandler Jones.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]