Rebels’ Cooper goes to 49ers in 5th round

Published 6:00 am Sunday, May 1, 2016

Fahn Cooper got a pretty good birthday present Saturday.

The former Ole Miss offensive tackle was taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Cooper, the first Ole Miss player to be taken since Robert Nkemdiche went 29th overall to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, was the 37th pick of the round and the 174th player taken overall.

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Cooper was the second former Ole Miss offensive tackle taken after Laremy Tunsil was taken 13th overall by the Miami Dolphins. He turned 23 years old Saturday.

Cooper, who began his career at Bowling Green, signed with the Rebels out of junior college in 2014 and quickly became a mainstay at right tackle, starting all 26 games the last two seasons. The 6-5, 306-pounder won the Kent Hull Trophy this past season as Mississippi’s top college offensive lineman after starting the first seven games on the left side in place of Tunsil, who missed those games while serving a suspension.