Why Packers' Edgerrin Cooper can be one of NFL's top LBs: ‘He's got superstar potential'
INDIANAPOLIS — The Packers carry several questions on defense into this offseason.
Will Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark bounce back from underwhelming seasons? Will the pass rush be more consistent? Is Lukas Van Ness a bust? Is Keisean Nixon good enough to handle No. 1 cornerback duties if the Packers move on from Jaire Alexander?
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All carry somewhat of a negative connotation, but not all is lost on Jeff Hafley's unit as he enters his second season as defensive coordinator. Far from it, in fact, after a resoundingly successful season that saw Hafley earn a head-coaching interview with the Jets.
Along with safety Xavier McKinney, who comes off earning first-team All-Pro honors in his first season with the Packers, the player who provides the most reason for optimism on that side of the ball is one who's played less than a season's worth of games in his career.
'I think he's got superstar potential,' head coach Matt LaFleur said of linebacker Edgerrin Cooper shortly after the season ended.
'I really do, as long as he continues to work, which I know he will … I think it was a huge learning curve coming from Texas A&M to here and you saw the more he played, the better he got and the more consistent he got. It's gonna be a great offseason for him. I think he's planning on staying in town and hopefully we can get him bigger, stronger, faster.'
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The Packers drafted Cooper in the second round last year after he led the Aggies in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles. Texas A&M had a top-10 scoring defense in 2023 and Cooper, the first linebacker off the board, was the only prospect in the draft class to lead his team in all four categories.
Cooper missed almost three weeks during training camp with a hip injury, preventing him from catching stride until regular-season games had already started. When injured, he'd stand some 30 yards behind the secondary in practice with his helmet on and go through the motions before and after the snap to stay relatively up to speed. He played less than 15 percent of the defensive snaps in the first two games of the season against the Eagles and Colts before progressing into the 30s, 60s and then the high 90s by the end of the season.
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Even after missing three games in the second half of the season with a hamstring injury, Cooper showed how good he can be with what he did right after an extended layoff. In his first game back against the Seahawks in Week 15, he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting a sack, two TFLs and an interception in a blowout win. It was his second such honor in the last four games he had played.
With everyone watching on SNF!#ProBowlVote + #EdgerrinCooper pic.twitter.com/UVNEhLq4ff
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 16, 2024
'I think he hit a stretch there in the middle of the season where he was just really comfortable with what we were doing defensively, with his teammates and everything around him,' general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. 'And he's a little different than some.'
Cooper might've been a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist if not for that midseason injury. He finished sixth for the award and only five players made the final cut. Fifty votes were cast for the award, with Cooper receiving one second-place tally, three for third place, four for fourth and eight for fifth. According to Stathead, Cooper was only the third rookie since 1999 with at least 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 TFLs and four pass breakups. The other two were Brian Urlacher and DeMeco Ryans. Cooper also got one vote for second-team All-Pro, meaning one of the 50 voters believed he was among the six best linebackers in the NFL.
'When he was on the field, he was dynamic and it changed our football team,' Gutekunst said. 'I think part of his maturation is making sure he's himself, ready to be out there each and every week … just continue to understand that we're basically in a 20-game-plus season and how you have to prepare, not only physically but mentally, to handle those challenges.
'I think after the guys get through their first year, there's a big exhale and then there's an understanding of what this is and what I've got to do to play at my best week in and week out and get myself the best chance to stay healthy.'
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In his second season, Cooper should rarely leave the field, if at all, when healthy. That was a talking point among fans last season, that he wasn't playing enough after he began playing well. But Hafley was careful not to overload the rookie who was still learning, even when sometimes it didn't seem like he had much learning left. Hafley was asked in late December about highlighting Cooper more.
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'I mean, he was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week a week ago and he led the team in tackles this last week, so I think that we are highlighting him,' Hafley said. 'I mean, we're sending him (on blitzes). He's running games. Yeah, I think we're doing a good job of highlighting him right now and I'm not sure there's much more we can do with him right now. I think as he continues to develop, we can, but I think we're doing a pretty good job of that right now.'
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Cooper, who doesn't turn 24 until November, can do it all. A two-drive sequence against the Jaguars in Week 8 proved that when he burst through the line for a sack-fumble that turned into a touchdown and then retreated about 40 yards downfield to break up a pass on the next defensive drive (he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for that game, too).
As Cooper enters his second season in the same system and if he keeps a clean bill of health that allows him to be an every-down player, there's no reason he can't make those sequences regular occurrences and become one of the NFL's best linebackers.
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