Packers Hoping for More Big Plays from Edgerrin Cooper This Season

The Green Bay Packers enter the 2026 campaign with a lot of changes on defense. They have a new defensive coordinator in Jonathan Gannon and a new scheme that he will be implementing. The Packers are also hoping for more big plays from linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Cooper made a lot of big plays as a rookie but saw those numbers fall off last season.

Packers Hoping for More Big Plays from Edgerrin Cooper This Season: His Rookie Campaign

The Packers selected Cooper in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Texas A&M alum played 14 games as a rookie. The team brought him along slowly. He started only four games and only played 55 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.

Despite this lack of extensive playing time, Cooper made an immediate impact on the team. He had a knack for making big plays and whenever he was on the field, the opposing team knew it.

Cooper finished his rookie season with 3.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits and 13 tackles for loss. He also recovered two fumbles, forced one and intercepted a pass. In coverage, Cooper broke up four passes. As a result of his playmaking abilities, Cooper was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie Team.

Veteran teammates took quick notice of Cooper’s talent and potential. “He’s special, man,” former Packers edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare said during Cooper’s rookie season. “From the stat line, you can see he can do everything, make tackles, make interceptions, get the sacks. There’s literally nothing he’s physically not able to do. The sky’s the limit for him. He’s going to be a hell of a player one day – or continue to be a hell of a player.”

A Different Second Season

Over the offseason, Cooper put on some weight in preparation for taking on a bigger role in 2025. At OTAs, head coach Matt LaFleur was impressed by what he saw. “He’s so much more confident. Certainly, his body looks different. He’s like 240 pounds now,” LaFleur told reporters. “The added weight, and he still looks like he’s moving as good as he did a year ago. I’m really excited about him. Just his understanding of the detail of what he’s supposed to do and those around him, that’s going to allow him to play that much faster, which is pretty exciting.”

Cooper took on a larger role in his second NFL season in 2025. He became a full-time starter and played 99 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in the 16 games he played. But the big plays were down substantially compared to his rookie campaign.

In 2025, Cooper only recorded 0.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. He forced two fumbles and recovered one. He did not intercept a pass in 2025 but did break up four passes for the second consecutive year.

One reason for the reduction in big plays may have been the way Cooper was used. When the Packers traded for Micah Parsons prior to the start of the season, they changed the way Cooper was utilized. He was penetrating the line of scrimmage les/s often and wasn’t given the opportunities he had his rookie year.

The Packers got more consistency from Cooper in year two but fewer big plays.

Packers Hoping for More Big Plays from Edgerrin Cooper This Season: Looking Ahead

Things will be different for Cooper in 2026. For one thing, for this first time, he will not be playing alongside Quay Walker, who signed with the Raiders as a free agent. The Packers traded for veteran Zaire Franklin who will replace Walker in the lineup.

Cooper will also have to adjust to the new defense under Gannon. Gannon indicated he wanted to create more turnovers and big plays on defense this year. Cooper will be expected to be a big part of that.

“Edge is such a unique player,” GM Brian Gutekunst said earlier this offseason. “He is so versatile with his ability to play off the ball in the run game, to cover, to rush the passer. He’s really a complete linebacker.”

In year one, Cooper made big plays but was inconsistent with fundamentals. In his second season, the fundamentals were there, but the big plays were few and far between. Now entering his third season, Cooper hopes to put it all together and take his game to a new level. The Packers defense will benefit immensely if he does.