Here’s the thing about Edgerrin Cooper: When he stands in front of Lambeau Field, he can hug someone in Milwaukee. We’re talking wingspan (80+ inches) that doesn’t quit.
It’s one of the many attributes that made Cooper one of the top two consensus linebackers in the 2024 class, and a screaming favorite among the Packer faithful when he was the second player picked (45th overall after trading back four spots) by Green Bay on Friday.
I, too, am excited by much of what the Texas A&M product brings to the table, but there are some question marks, and I’m particularly intrigued by what this choice suggests about new DC Jeff Hafley’s scheme and use of personnel.
Basics first: A Covington, Louisiana., native, Cooper will turn 23 in November, stands just north of 6’2”, weighs 230 pounds and ran a speedy (for a linebacker) 4.51 40 with a 1.56 10-yard split. He has large (9 3/4) hands and the long, lean frame that is increasingly typical for modern linebackers. He did not do the agility drills at the combine, but he moves with fluidity, if somewhat upright.
From a roster-building perspective, Cooper’s selection was a welcome and crucial early thrust of a draft strategy that prioritized improving the team’s middle-of-the-field defense with linebackers and safeties. And it was clear from the draft that Gutekunst is following Hafley’s stated desire for a more aggressive scheme with high-intensity players moving forward, pressuring the ball and dictating the action, rather than sitting back and waiting. It’s about time.
Cooper certainly brings many of those traits. His film shows a high motor, heat-seeking missile who likes to hit hard, although sometimes in lieu of actual tackling. His speed, quick first steps, motor and intensity make him particularly suited as a blitzer, and as a QB spy, a critical need for a team that has struggled against mobile quarterbacks.
Here’s what the CHTV draft guide said:
“He is most effective when shooting gaps and playing aggressively downhill. He can be disruptive at the line of scrimmage and use his speed to chase down ball carriers as a backside pursuit defender. He also demonstrates an explosive first step as a blitzer off the edge, giving him an effective secret weapon to use on third downs. Cooper also demonstrates true three-down ability because not only is he a dynamic rusher, but he also has the speed and fluid hips to change direction and hold up in coverage when out on an island in space. Where Cooper needs to improve at the next level is taking on blocks. In college, he survived by being quicker than offensive linemen and slipping their attempts. However, too frequently he was washed out of plays once he engaged with opponents. He can also get too eager and over-pursue the run, showing a need to play more disciplined.”
And here’s Greg Cosell, writing for the 33rd team:
“While Cooper’s tape is impressive regarding tier athleticism and dynamic explosive movement, what you didn’t see a lot of throughout his tape was physicality and stack and shed in the box to make plays in the run game, and that is what will likely keep him off the field early in his career in base defenses in normal down and distance situations.”
It’s clear that Cooper can be lined up all over the place, and one gets the sense that in many ways he’s a better, more aggressive version of Quay Walker, with a higher ability to get to and/or follow the quarterback. He has a great knack for sliding past offensive linemen using his quick burst and a sneaky dip move under the arms of would-be blockers. And he appears quite coachable when it comes to working on needed improvements.
What Cooper and the safeties Green Bay drafted represent are chess pieces for Hafley to play with in different coverages that allow for both opponent-based match-ups and opportunities to confuse offenses with multiple pre-snap looks. Expect a lot of the traditional schematic lines to get blurred, as safeties and linebackers move up and back, in and out of the box and side to side. I can’t wait to watch it unfold.
The challenge is how to achieve the goal without over-complicating things, and this is why I scratched my head a bit at Cooper’s selection. Regardless of whether a team runs a 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5 or any other variant, the defense needs a quarterback. The leader, communicator, and tone-setter who understands every detail and nuance of the installed scheme. In other words, the MIKE, the guy with the green dot in the mold of Fred Warner, Bobby Wagner and Roquan Smith. For that reason, I was partial to Junior Colson, the Michigan middle linebacker favored over Cooper by some of the top draftniks for similar reasons.
Colson played the middle consistently for Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, and will again for the Chargers, whereas Cooper is much more of an LB/Edge hybrid. Walker doesn’t fit the MIKE bill, so who plays that role now? Isaiah McDuffie was a frequent sub for De’Vondre Campbell, so perhaps the coaches think he’s up to it. It would be great if he could grow into that role. If he does, and assuming the Packers won’t be in base that often, Quay might see fewer snaps, depending on how quickly Cooper gets his NFL sea legs. Or perhaps the caches think Cooper can play the MIKE.
One X-factor is the other linebacker Gutekunst picked, Ty’Ron Hopper from Missouri. Hopper is much more the MIKE prototype, and in his senior year got the C stitched to his jersey. It will be interesting to see if his skill set and athleticism will crack the starting lineup in what is now a much stronger linebacker room. GPG.
