Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper had two very different seasons in his first two NFL campaigns. But this year, he is off to a great start. The former Texas A&M has become a dominant force for a Packers defense that has surprised a lot of people with their strong start without star edge rusher Micah Parsons. We examine how Edgerrin Cooper has taken his game to another level in 2026.

Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper Has Taken His Game to Another Level: The First Two Seasons

The Packers selected Cooper in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Cooper didn’t earn a starting job right away as a rookie. He played in 14 games but started just four. He was on the field for just 55 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in the games he played.

But despite not getting extensive playing time, Cooper made a lot of big plays. The rookie made 87 tackles including 13 tackles for loss. He also recorded 3.5 quarterback sacks and seven quarterback hits. Cooper also intercepted one pass, forced one fumble and recovered two.

So, why wasn’t he on the field more after making all those big plays? Because Cooper didn’t have a thorough understanding of his assignments yet and wasn’t always in the right position on any given play.

In his second season, Cooper’s role in the defense changed. Once Parsons arrived then defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley hardly used Cooper at all to blitz or penetrate the line of scrimmage. Cooper became a full-time starter and knew his assignments, but his big-play production evaporated.

In 2025, while playing 99 percent of snaps in 16 games, he had just one-half sack, and four tackles for loss. His quarterback hits went down from seven to just three.

Changes for 2026

The Packers have a new defensive coordinator this season in Jonathan Gannon. He has returned to having Cooper attack the ball at the line of scrimmage and has used him as a weapon in all phases of the game.

So far, the results have been outstanding. Cooper already has five tackles for loss in just two games, one more than he had all of last season. No player in the league has more. He also has two sacks and two quarterback hits. He’s been a force out there so far this season.

Gannon likes what he’s seen from Cooper thus far. “When you look at the skill set for a linebacker, he can tackle, he can cover, he can blitz,” Gannon said. “He sees things extremely quickly. Just his explosiveness to get off the spot once the ball declares, I always say the job of a linebacker, ‘Hit the ball.’”

Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper Has Taken His Game to Another Level: The Next Step

Cooper’s teammates also appreciate his contributions. “He’s a tone setter. We talk about tone-setters as something that’s imperative to a team,” said safety Evan Williams. “He’s a guy you can always count on to set the tempo immediately — first snap to the last, he’s somebody that’s flying to the ball [with] reckless abandon. You know on any given play, he’s going to be doing exactly that – flying to the ball, pursuing from the backside and it makes our job [as safeties] a lot easier when you have somebody being really decisive up front. It definitely cleans up the picture for the back end.”

Williams also loves the progress he sees in Cooper’s game. “You can see his growth week to week, which is what I love, seeing him develop, seeing him read patterns and just process things a whole lot faster. It’s looking like it’s turning up to be one hell of a year for him.”

The key now for Cooper is to consistently play at a high level, not just for the first two games of the season. But in his third year in the NFL, he’s emerging as a playmaker and a leader for this team. If he continues to play like this, combining his big-play ability from his rookie season with his knowledge of the scheme he added in his second season, Pro Bowl honors could follow.

The sky remains the limit for Edgerrin Cooper.

 

 

 

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