Paul Bretl | 8/7/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ second-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper was everywhere on the practice field on Wednesday. Run game, passing game, it didn’t matter, Cooper was around the ball.
“Ballin. Coop being Coop. That’s it,” Quay Walker said of Cooper’s performance in training camp.
On a bootleg from Jordan Love, Cooper wasn’t fooled and was instantly in the quarterback’s face. Later in practice, Cooper blitzed off the edge and batted a pass from Malik Willis. Then, in coverage, Cooper swatted a pass intended for Tucker Kraft forcefully to the ground.
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This performance from Wednesday isn’t all that different from what we’ve seen from Cooper throughout the two weeks of training camp practices. Run game, passing game, as a blitzer, it doesn’t much matter, Cooper is around the ball.
“He’s a really good linebacker,” Jordan Love said after Wednesday’s practice. “You guys seen it last year but I think the speed he has and the more he’s able to dissect plays, it’s hard for these O-line on run plays to be able to get to him sometimes because he’s so quick.
“He’s a really good player. I think the more he keeps playing, he’s going to keep getting better and better. But he’s really good.”
Like any incoming rookie last year, Cooper experienced the learning curve that comes with making the jump to the NFL level. At times, extending that learning curve for Cooper was the various injuries he had to work through during training camp last summer and early on into the season, which took away valuable practice and in-game reps from him.
However, the playmaking abilities that Cooper possesses were evident from the jump. In Week 8, he won the NFC’s Defensive Rookie of the Week award.
Then, during the latter portion of the season, no linebacker had a higher PFF grade than Cooper from Weeks 15-18. During that span, he also recorded the ninth-most quarterback pressures, the fifth-most stops, and his 5.4 yards per catch allowed was the fifth-lowest. Cooper was also just one of six linebackers to record an interception over that stretch of games.
Now entering his second NFL season, as defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley mentioned during offseason programs, two big things he wants to see from Cooper are consistency and staying healthy.
Even with all the impressive plays Cooper made as a rookie, fine-tuning the details, which include alignment, assignments, and technique, can help him play faster and reach another level.
In many respects, the experience that Cooper has gained over the last year, and having a full offseason to focus on his craft rather than the pre-draft process, can make him more sound in that regard.
When it comes to staying on the field, Cooper has added about 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason. He also cut out “bad foods,” except for the occasional Nutter Butter.
“I’m stronger. I feel I’m able to hold my ground more,” Cooper said. “Just those things I wish I had last year.
“Still same speed,” he added. “I feel like I’m still moving around. I’m just ready to get after it.”
Over the last two practices, with Quay Walker back from injury and participating in some of the team periods, he and Cooper have been the Packers’ nickel linebackers. When Green Bay is in its base 4-3 defense, Isaiah Simmons and Isaiah McDuffie have each had the opportunity to be the third linebacker.
From how Cooper positions himself in coverage to make plays on the ball to the way he diagnoses and knifes through the offensive line to make a play in the backfield in the run game to his pass rush plan when he’s tasked with getting after the quarterback, you can see the added comfort and confidence that Cooper is operating with in Year 2.
And when you couple that with his instincts and explosiveness, you get a lot of plays being made on the ball.
“I feel like the sky’s the limit,” Cooper said. “Now, I’m coming for it all. I feel like I have so much more left in my tank. Everybody’s saying how I’m this and that. I think I got a lot way more. I just don’t like to stay comfortable at all. I just want to attack it more.”