Packers Rookie Preview: LB Edgerrin Cooper’s speed can unlock new scheme

An All-22 film study on Green Bay’s second-round pick.

Do you like fast football players? Do you also like unhinged linebackers?

Then Edgerrin Cooper may be the player for you.

The Green Bay Packers took Cooper with the 45th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite fans hoping that Cooper DeJean may fall to the Packers in the second round, the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in, and Brian Gutekunst opted to trade back.

As far as “consolation prizes” go, landing a player like Cooper is a massive win for the franchise. Not only are they getting an explosive downhill player, but they’re getting a linebacker who is so disruptive and aggressive that it has the potential to transform Green Bay’s entire run defense in 2024.

Although a bit undersized for an off-ball linebacker at 6’2” and 230 pounds, Cooper makes up for it with excellent athleticism and explosiveness. He doesn’t often show hesitation when reading his keys, allowing him to make the most of his athleticism to fire downhill.

Along with that downhill speed, Cooper has the length to wrap up ball carriers from awkward angles. That’s an underrated part to his game, and one that virtually no other off-ball linebackers possessed in this draft class.

Even when Cooper is a tick late in diagnosing the play in front of him, that length and explosiveness makes him the ultimate clean up player scraping over the play.

When Cooper is able to react quickly, he also flashes some legitimate pop in his pads. The frame may not indicate a strong player, but there’s some legitimate wiry strength in his game.

That strength even shows up when Cooper isn’t able to meet the ball carrier with proper technique and momentum. This clip below against Alabama is a great example of that. Watch Cooper essentially catch the running back with high pad level, yet still find a way to stonewall the back to prevent YAC and find a way to drive his legs through contact.

Packers fans will also love to hear that one of Cooper’s best traits is his ability to be utilized as a QB spy. Fans have spent way too many years watching dual-threat quarterbacks gash Green Bay’s defense with their legs.

Cooper is the ultimate clean-up player as a spy. The second he sees the quarterback drop his eyes, Cooper flies downhill and finds a way to bring the QB down.

When he’s not being used as a spy or dropping in coverage, Cooper can also be a lethal blitzer off of the edge. In fact, there’s another universe where Cooper was an EDGE prospect given his ridiculous explosiveness and bend off of the edge.

Just watch how smooth his path is to the quarterback on this one.

None of this is to say that Cooper is the perfect prospect. He’s still a bit wiry for an NFL linebacker, and he’s so twitched up that more savvy offensive coordinators can use that to their advantage.

Cooper can get so excited flying downhill that he forgets to gear down to avoid getting beaten in a one-on-one situation against the ball carrier.

Offenses can also use Cooper’s aggressiveness against him with gap scheme runs. By showing Cooper openings into the backfield before getting blindsided by pulling blockers, it can open up significant rushing lanes.

Cooper can fix this, however. He can continue refining his technique to blow up pulling blockers and constrict those rushing lanes. While he has a wiry frame, his momentum and underrated strength could make this a legitimate tool in his bag if he refines his technique at the point of attack.

That doesn’t just show up against pullers. Even when he gets downhill, he tends to stop his feet and try to almost catch blockers instead of launching his hips and hands into them.

The good news is that all of Cooper’s deficiencies on tape are correctable and coachable. As long as he can continue to refine his game, Cooper is such an explosive and aggressive playmaker that he should be an immediate impact player for the Packers.