Every NFL team looks like a Super Bowl contender at this point in the summer.
Every player is in the best shape of their career, poised to take a leap, a star in the making, etc. Coach speak reigns supreme. And, with players just in shorts, it’s hard to find tangible ways to disagree. This is a fun time of year to hype up your team. However, longtime offseason enjoyers know not to put too much stock into these bold claims until the results translate to padded games against opponents.
While it’s always good to remind yourself not to mortgage the farm yet, sometimes, a player will live up to that summer hype.
For the Green Bay Packers, I’m all in on the Edgerrin Cooper hype.
Despite missing some time due to injuries, Cooper already looked like a star in the making. With an NFC Defensive Player of the Month, two NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards, and PFWA All-Rookie team recognition under his belt, the sky is the limit. He has some of the highest star potential and is an easy candidate to take a Year 2 leap.
But after showing up to OTAs looking bigger and more in command than in his rookie season, the sizable linebacker is turning heads and drawing in even more hype. Cooper’s teammates and coaches are already selling us on the second-year linebacker, and it’s a piece of propaganda worth buying into.
The Packers have struggled to field a promising inside linebacker group for years, despite the brief flash of Devonte Campbell’s All-Pro season. Even after drafting Quay Walker in the first round in 2022, the unit was still one of the weak links on Green Bay’s defense.
Walker took a step forward in the second half of 2024, but Cooper’s emergence makes the group’s future look blindingly bright.
In just 14 games (a few of which he played minimal snaps), Cooper made his presence known. According to PFF, he finished his rookie season with 52 solo tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble, and 11 pressures. He had one of the lowest missed-tackle rates (just 13) and finished with above-average marks in all phases, with a total 84 grade (10th out of 189 qualifying linebackers) and an elite 90.1 pass rush grade (second!).
According to Sports Illustrated, Cooper is also the only rookie inside linebacker since 1999 with at least 80 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and four passes defended.
Those stats led to his awards and are the foundation for this year’s expectations.
What’s new as of OTAs is Cooper’s size. The sophomore linebacker put on weight (the good kind!) and weighed in at 240 lbs. (he played around 220 at some points last season). Cooper added size, mass, and power, which should improve the best aspects of his game. Even in coverage, his relatively weakest spot, that size should allow him to bully receivers better.
According to Channel 3000’s Jason Wilde, Cooper spent time this offseason working with the conditioning and nutritional staff to gain the right type of weight and to build his body to withstand the wear and tear of the NFL.
Best of all, Matt LaFleur said Cooper hasn’t lost a lick of explosiveness with this new weight. Cooper already had an elite physical profile. If he’s adding more power and mass on top of his gifted speed, watch out.
“He’s so much more confident. Certainly, his body looks different. I don’t know if you guys could tell, but he’s like 240 lbs. right now,” LaFleur said. “The added weight, and he still looks like he’s moving as good as he did a year ago.”
We can’t measure confidence the way they can size, but it’s a good thing to hear the head coach lauding. A full NFL offseason plan, more familiarity with the defense and the speed of the NFL, and a bigger role on the horizon are preparing Cooper for the mental aspects.
LaFleur isn’t the only one singing Cooper’s praises during OTAs. Xavier McKinney was the team’s best defensive player last season and noted Cooper’s growth.
We already know what he’s capable of and what he wants to do, and even just coming in, he got bigger. You could tell that he’s serious about what he wants to do, and he’s being very intentional about it as well. So, I expect more from him. We all do. And I know he expects that for himself as well.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, ever the teacher, pointed out the areas where he expects growth, including getting the details down and becoming more consistent. Still, he likes where Cooper is at mentally and physically.
For a player with already high expectations, hearing some of the team’s most prominent voices elaborate on how impressed they are with Cooper’s progress is hard not to get excited about. This is the time of year for hype, and we’ll want to see if Cooper can actually live up to these expectations during the regular season and beyond.
But Cooper is already building on last season’s success with a reinforced body and a hungry mind. His coaches and teammates are noting his efforts, and it’s worth buying into the hype this summer.
