League attention is fixated on the Green Bay Packers now that Micah Parsons is in the equation. While Green Bay’s weaknesses on defense are lessened with his addition, the Packers won’t miss out on the boosts to the strengths that already existed without him.
Case in point, the linebacker group in Green Bay is in a great spot, and with Parsons commanding such attention, the primary contributors there, Quay Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, and Isaiah McDuffie, ought to have plenty of space to fly around and make plays.
This group was poised for great things before Parsons was brought in, but now there will be even more attention paid their way. And that could lead to some well-deserved recognition later.
Edgerrin Cooper poised for a breakout season for Packers' star-studded defense
ESPN’s Seth Walder made a bold prediction for every NFL franchise recently, including his prediction for second-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper to be named an All-Pro this season. Walder did leave some space, suggesting that Cooper may land on the second team instead of the first, but nonetheless, it’d be a huge honor for the young linebacker.
As a rookie, Cooper racked up 87 total tackles, 13 for a loss, with 3.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble, recovered two fumbles, deflected four passes, and secured an interception. He was solid in coverage, but dominant against the run. As Walder pointed out, Cooper’s 46 percent run stop win rate would have led all linebackers. All of this Cooper did in just 14 games while finishing sixth in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year race.
Cooper ended the year with a few awards. He was named to the NFL’s 2024 All-Rookie Team and twice won NFC Defensive Player of the Week. While he didn’t earn a Pro Bowl nod, those aren’t what they used to be. The true mark for a player’s talent these days is in All-Pro selections. In 2024, the only Packer to make an All-Pro team was safety Xavier McKinney.
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Cooper would need to leapfrog quite a bit of talent to reach such an accolade. Last year’s First-Team All-Pro selections at linebacker were Fred Warner, Roquan Smith, and Zach Baun. The second team included Bobby Wagner, Zaire Franklin, and Frankie Luvu. That’s a tough list to crack, not to mention having to get past Quay Walker from his own team.
But the hype for Cooper is not unfounded. Just recently, Packers running back Josh Jacobs compared Cooper to Fred Warner. Of course, Warner is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, having been named a First-Team All-Pro in four of his seven seasons. But even Warner didn’t get his first All-Pro nod until Year 3.
Still, Warner is arguably the best off-ball linebacker in the league, so to be in his company is a great sign for Green Bay’s second-round pick from a year ago. But to be compared in offseason conversations and to produce at the same level going forward are separate situations.
Warner averages 133 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and a half, eight pass deflections, an interception, and two forced fumbles per season. Cooper will have to hit those marks and maybe just a bit more to earn a spot next to Warner on the 2025 All-Pro team.
Nonetheless, Cooper got close to that production in his rookie season despite playing in just 14 games and going without some of the extra help that Warner has in San Francisco. Cooper has his Nick Bosa on the frontline with Parsons. Maybe that prediction won’t be so bold if Cooper delivers on his sky-high expectations for 2025.