Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has made the most of the chances he’s had.
The Packers are excited to see what the rookie second-round pick from Texas A&M will do next.
In his return after missing three games, Cooper recorded a sack and his first career interception in the Packers’ 30-13 win at Seattle on Sunday. Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade of any NFL player, regardless of position, for that week.
“My plan is just to go out there and have fun,” Cooper said afterward. “I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s just football, at the end of the day. Go out there and do what I need to do.”
Cooper’s performance at Seattle earned him NFC defensive player of the week honors for a second time, making him the first Packer to win that award multiple times in a single season since Clay Matthews during the Packers’ Super Bowl championship run in 2010.
Cooper’s first NFC defensive player of the week award came after he had a sack and forced a fumble to help the Packers win 30-27 at Jacksonville in his first career start.
He has been on the field for less than 36% of the Packers’ defensive snaps (10-4) because he missed three games due to injury and didn’t get much playing time early in the season. Cooper has only played more than two-thirds of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in one game this year.
Even so, he ranks fourth on the team in sacks (3½) and sixth in tackles heading into Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints (5-9).
“I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he could become in this league,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
Cooper’s ability to make plays is clear from his season totals. He’s the first rookie linebacker to have at least three sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble since Patrick Queen in 2020 with the Baltimore Ravens.
The only other Packers rookie to reach those numbers since at least 2000 is A.J. Hawk in 2006.
“He’s a playmaker, so somebody that we’re definitely leaning on and expect to make a lot of plays for us,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said.
Cooper’s skill for making plays comes mainly from his incredible speed, which earned him the nickname “Flash” from his teammates due to his ability to cover the field from sideline to sideline.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley pointed to a recent play where Cooper was about 8 yards away from a receiver when a screen pass was thrown. By the time the ball arrived, Cooper was already there to make the play.
“He can eat up the grass really fast,” Hafley said. “Sometimes he might not be in the right position, but he has that ability to make up for it. The more he learns, the better he gets. He’s going to get better and better and better. He’s really matured and developed.”
His speed and understanding of the game helped him earn first-team Associated Press All-America honors at Texas A&M last season.
“He’s got two gifts,” said Jimbo Fisher, who coached Cooper at Texas A&M. “One, he can process and is very instinctive. And two, if he’s ever a half-step wrong or a step wrong, he’s usually got the burst to change.
“And he has length to be able to cover taller guys and run down the field with modern-day tight ends and some of the inside receivers they put on him. That’s a big advantage, too. Linebackers who can play in space and tackle in space are worth their weight in gold now.”
Cooper was playing tailback as well as linebacker when Fisher recruited him out of Covington (Louisiana) High School. Fisher believes Cooper could have been great at either position.
But his skill for defense has been clear from the start. “He loves contact,” Fisher said. “The physical side of the ball, he never shies away from. And he’s a smart guy. He can learn.
“I always say this about linebackers. You can learn everything you want, but there’s so much instinct to being able to diagnose and process information.
He’s always been able to do that. There’s a naturalness to linebackers, and sometimes you can’t coach all of that, you know what I’m saying? They can just process it and sort of do it. He’s always been able to do that.”
