It's been more than four weeks since the Green Bay Packers lost star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper to a season-ending Achilles injury.
Cooper, taking part in a standard blitz play in the third quarter of Green Bay's victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 4, hit the grass and looked behind him, as if to see who had stepped on his foot. But of course, no one was there.
It's the standard reaction to that kind of Achilles injury, and that is the exact sensation that it's reported to feel like. If you knew what to look for, a trained observer could have immediately pointed to an Achilles injury. Medical testing quickly confirmed this to be the case, and the rising superstar was announced to be out for the year.
It was a devastating blow to the Packers' defense. Cooper was off to a brilliant start to the season, forming a terrific tandem with Zaire Franklin.
I probably don't need to spell out exactly what Cooper's value to a defense is, but his kind of sideline-to-sideline ranging ability is special. He's got a nose for making disruptive plays in the backfield, and he had already accumulated three sacks in only four games.
Cooper's injury could have opened up a doorway for the Packers' run defense to become a major liability for the team. After all, Green Bay was only a few weeks removed from the Atlanta game, and it wasn't hard to picture that same kind of outcome repeating itself each and every week. It seemed like a true nightmare scenario, and for Cooper himself, who now had to deal with a terrible injury.
Ty'Ron Hopper has taken a long road to this moment
But with him out of the equation, Green Bay had to come up with answers fast. As the famous saying in the NFL goes, "Next man up".
Lo and behold, the next man is indeed up, and in a major way. Ty'Ron Hopper has made the most of his opportunity and has quietly become a very nice piece in the linebacker room.
Against the Carolina Panthers, Hopper became the first player since Charles Woodson in 2009 (the same year he won Defensive Player of the Year) to record a sack, an interception, and at least three pass breakups in the same game. Not to mention, his speed across the field has taken a significant step forward.
Hopper was a surprise pick for the Packers in Round 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft, taken just a few selections after MarShawn Lloyd. Hopper was known to be a talented but raw linebacker prospect coming out of the draft that year.
From Dane Brugler of The Athletic after the Packes selected Hopper in 2024:
"With his initial quickness and rangy speed, Hopper aggressively responds to ball carriers and pass catchers and closes in a hurry. However, he lacks the play strength desired for an every-down role and needs to improve his block awareness.
Overall, Hopper needs to be more consistent at the point of attack and as a finisher, but he is a fast-flowing athlete with the pursuit skills and blitzing talent to find a home in the NFL. He projects as a run-and-chase rotational linebacker with the skill set for special teams."
Linebacker was a big need for Green Bay in that year's draft, so it was no surprise that the Packers selected two that year (along with Cooper himself). The surprise was when Hopper was taken. Green Bay selected him in the third round of that draft, much earlier than the Round 6-7 evaluation that most draft analysts bestowed upon him.
And for the first two years of his career, Hopper largely failed to live up to the expectations of a third-round pick. He was buried on the depth chart behind Cooper, Isiah McDuffie, and Quay Walker, and then behind Zaire Franklin as well, once the Packers acquired him via trade last spring.
Ty'Ron Hopper's emergence has been one of the surprises of the season
I'll be the first to admit that I was a little too skeptical of what Hopper could bring to the team, but since Cooper's injury, Hopper has risen to the occasion.
He's been a great fill-in, and the most impressive part has been his coverage skills. Since taking on an expanded role for the team, Hopper has snagged two interceptions and allowed only a 75.8 passer rating.
His rep against Chubba Hubbard in pass coverage, where he stayed step for step with the speedy running back up the sideline for a PBU, was a thing of beauty.
Only time will tell if Hopper can keep up his impressive play, but for now, he has helped close a major hole in Green Bay's defense and prevented the Packers from feeling the brunt of the pain from losing Cooper.
As the weather gets colder and run defense gets more and more important, we'll see if he can continue to rise to the occasion.
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