It can be easy to give up quickly on a third-round pick. The question marks in their games that led to being a mid-round pick can be exposed at the NFL level. For players tied to NFL veterans via trade in their draft selection, there’s an extra sense of pressure from the fans wise enough to connect the dots.
Still, those players have an advantage as a higher mid-round pick to stick around, learn, and grow for the next season. Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper proved to be a shining example of that this summer after a rough start to his NFL career last season.
Hopper is connected to former Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas, who spent the past season-and-a-half with the Buffalo Bills after the AFC franchise sent the 91st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to Green Bay, the pick used on Hopper. After his second preseason, Green Bay is much happier with the results of that trade.
Packers' patience with Ty'Ron Hopper paying off after quiet rookie year
In his rookie season, Hopper played just 18 defensive snaps, instead contributing mostly on special teams, where he logged 215 snaps. He finished the season with just nine total tackles. The Missouri product cleared that total in just three preseason games, finishing with 10, including a sack and forced fumble in the finale against the Seattle Seahawks.
After watching Douglas put in solid work with the Bills in 2023, in contrast to Hopper’s first season, it was easy to call Green Bay the loser in the trade-deadline transaction.
However, Douglas struggled in 2024, allowing 73 percent of passes in his coverage area to be completed while giving up four touchdowns. While Hopper is beginning to shine in Green Bay, Douglas remains a free agent as the 2025 preseason comes to an end.
The tables have turned in the trade fallout, as Hopper has emerged as a potential option to compete with Isaiah McDuffie for rotational snaps behind Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper. At the very least, he created separation between himself and Isaiah Simmons and Kristian Welch, who are now waiting to see who comes away with the fifth, and likely final, linebacker spot.
Hopper certainly still has more to prove this season. After all, one standout preseason does not a star make. But undoubtedly, his standing on the defense is much greater after making a stellar comeback this summer.
Time will tell how the Packers' final roster linebacker group looks, and just how many snaps Hopper can snag on defense this season with the talent ahead of him on the depth chart. But in the meantime, there’s more satisfaction to be had with his development as a young mid-round pick.