The Green Bay Packers invested nearly $150 million in Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, along with a first-round pick for Lukas Van Ness to their edge position. Kenny Clark signed a three-year, $64 million extension in the offseason, while Devonte Wyatt, coming off a 5.5-sack, 48-pressure season in 2023, was expected to break out in 2024.
Green Bay revamped their safety room, moving on from Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, and Jonathan Owens. In free agency, they signed Xavier McKinney and drafted Javon Bullard and Evan Williams.
McKinney is the NFL’s interception leader and was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month in October. Williams ranks in the top 10 in coverage grade among safeties with 100-plus coverage snaps. He is the highest-graded run defender in his class and is the sixth-highest-graded safety overall, per Pro Football Focus. Bullard is the second-highest-graded rookie safety and ranks second in tackles among his peers.
The Packers moved on from De’Vondre Campbell and drafted Edgerrin Cooper in the second round of the 2024 draft. Aside from that, the linebacker corps saw no other changes. It was clear this group would be the defense’s Achilles heel heading into the season, and it remains that way.
Quay Walker leads all Green Bay linebackers with 460 snaps, followed by Isaiah McDuffie with 390, Edgerrin Cooper with 238, and Eric Wilson with 229. Ironically, Walker has the lowest defensive grade of the group, with McDuffie close behind.
Walker and McDuffie have allowed a 77.9% completion rate, 9.3 yards per catch, 493 yards, 295 yards after the catch, and a 106.8 passer rating. Walker has the third-lowest defensive grade and seventh-worst coverage grade among off-ball linebackers with 300-plus snaps. This season marks the worst start of his career in defensive and coverage grades. He often seems to trail the ball carrier by at least five yards or ends up shooting the wrong gap.
Quarterbacks have a 117.6 passer rating when targeting McDuffie, the 17th highest among 71 linebackers with 100-plus coverage snaps. He lacks a single grade above 61.8. Among linebackers with 300-plus snaps, McDuffie has the eighth-highest missed-tackle percentage and the highest of any Packers linebacker.
A 13-years retired Shaquille O’Neal has a better chance of hitting a free throw than Walker and McDuffie do of providing average linebacker play for Green Bay.
The only thing more astonishing than Walker and McDuffie’s performance is Green Bay’s coaching staff repeatedly mismanaging their off-ball linebacker room’s snaps.
Walker played all 57 defensive snaps against the Detroit Lions, while Cooper logged 38 and Wilson 42. In Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cooper had only the third-most snaps for a linebacker, and the same occurred against the Houston Texans in Week 7. Against the Arizona Cardinals, Walker again played all 58 defensive snaps, with Cooper at 38 and Wilson just 14.
Among 116 off-ball linebackers with 50-plus snaps, Eric Wilson ranks 14th in grade, Cooper 33rd, McDuffie 84th, and Walker 102nd. Wilson leads all Green Bay linebackers in defensive, run defense, and coverage grades. Cooper and Wilson are the only linebackers on the team to have forced a fumble this season, with Wilson also the only one to have both a forced fumble and an interception.
The Athletic named Cooper to its midseason All-Rookie team. Still, he can’t seem to crack Green Bay’s starting lineup. He’s the second-highest-graded rookie linebacker and fourth in coverage. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, recording a strip sack, eight tackles, and a pass breakup. Cooper was the first Packers rookie to win the award since Clay Matthews in Week 13 of the 2009 season.
Walker is playing the Mike role, which makes it harder for Green Bay to sub him out frequently. However, his underperformance should prompt the coaching staff to reconsider who handles play calls, giving Cooper and Wilson more time on the field. Hafley will either need to stick with Walker until the end of the year or make the change now, and the bye week offers the perfect opportunity for that adjustment.
There’s no reason for Walker and McDuffie to dominate the snaps. Wilson and Cooper have outperformed them in every phase of the game. All four have made mistakes, but it’s in Green Bay’s best interest to work through those growing pains with Cooper, whose ceiling is still unknown, rather than with Walker and McDuffie, whose limits are already evident.
