The Green Bay Packers must come up with something to compensate for Micah Parsons' absence early this season. That could be a breakout year from Lukas Van Ness. It could be youngsters like Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, and Dani Dennis-Sutton stepping up to the plate.
What if part of the answer was leaning on linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, unleashing the pass-rushing thump that has faded from his game since he was drafted? That oomph is still in there. The Packers just haven't maximized it.
Specifically, former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley never really sought to unlock that part of Cooper's skill set. Now Jonathan Gannon, Hafley's successor, can do just that. If nothing else, it's an experiment worth trying.
Edgerrin Cooper can boost Packers pass rush under Jonathan Gannon
Cooper is, of course, an inside linebacker by trade. At least, that's how Hafley used him, plugging him in to patrol the middle of the field, provide run support, and be effective in pass coverage.
While Cooper played that role quite well, he has more to offer in the pass rush: a lot more, as evidenced by his eight sacks as a Texas A&M senior. He was also in the backfield more often, resulting in an SEC-best 17 tackles for loss.
In Green Bay, his modest but promising pass-rush numbers as a rookie fell way off in Year 2. He went from 3.5 sacks and a 90.2 Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade, second at his position, to 0.5 sacks and a 66.7 grade (35th). And that despite playing over twice the snaps.
Part of that could be the Parsons effect. The Packers simply didn't need to call on Cooper to supplement the pass rush nearly as often. Anyway, that's how Hafley structured his defensive scheme.
PFF credits Cooper with only 66 pass-rush snaps last season. Per Pro Football Reference, he blitzed 40 times versus 32 times as a rookie (in under half the playing time). Out of 118 total tackles, he made four behind the line of scrimmage, compared to 13 out of 87 in 2024. Instead of allowing him to go aggressively downhill, the Packers held him back to play the middle.
That's still going to be his primary role, but it's fair to say that Hafley left some of Cooper's playmaking ability on the table. Gannon could find himself scrambling to mitigate the loss of Parsons for the first seven weeks or more. It's the perfect time to find out whether there isn't more where Cooper's rookie flashes came from.
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