Background and career
Christopher Ken Cooley (born July 11, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah State Aggies and was selected by the Redskins in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft.
Cooley attended Logan High School in Logan, Utah, and lettered in football, wrestling, and baseball. As a senior football tight end, he caught 45 passes for 625 yards (13.34 yards per rec. avg.) and on defense, added eight sacks and numerous tackles. In wrestling, he posted a 54–0 record his senior season, winning a Utah state championship and earned All-America honors.
Cooley finished his college football career at Utah State University with 95 receptions for 1,255 yards (13.2 yards per reception). He was part of a talented receiving unit with teammate Kevin Curtis. In 2003, his senior season at Utah State, Cooley led the NCAA in receptions by a tight end. In 2017 he was inducted into the Utah State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
In 2004, Cooley was drafted in the third round, with the 81st overall pick, of the 2004 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins. After being used sparingly in the first half of the 2004 season, Cooley began to be used more extensively in the last eight games, developing a rapport with Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey. In his first NFL season, Cooley led the team in touchdowns with six, while recording 37 receptions for 314 yards, catching three passes of more than twenty yards, and getting 23 first downs. He finished the season with an average of 8.5 yards per catch. He was the Redskins' nominee for the NFL Man of the Year award for his work reading to children and feeding the poor. He is also lesser known by the nickname "Johnny White Guy," which was given to him by Clinton Portis during one of Portis' colorful press conferences, but the off color nickname did not stick.
During the 2005 season, Cooley had a solid season as a receiver, catching 71 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns, including three in a game versus the rival Dallas Cowboys, breaking the Redskins franchise record for receptions as a tight end in a single season. Those three touchdowns cost Cooley his fantasy football playoff game, because his opponent had Cooley on his fantasy team. He led all NFC tight ends in fan voting for the annual Pro Bowl with 422,314 votes, but following player and coach voting (each group had 1/3 weight), was not chosen for the position. He was named first-team All-NFC by Pro Football Weekly.
In 2006, Cooley got off to a slow start under the play-calling of the Washington Redskins' new offensive coordinator, Al Saunders. With only three receptions in the first two weeks of the season, Cooley appeared to not have a place in the new offensive scheme, but in the weeks following, became a growing part of the Redskins offense. He ended the season with numbers slightly less than his sophomore outing, but was still one of the top tight ends in the game.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
