The early results from the Green Bay Packers’ 2024 draft class have been promising, especially for Edgerrin Cooper and Evan Williams.
Elsewhere, injuries have made MarShawn Lloyd and Jordan Morgan unknowns. Constant shifting of positions has made Javon Bullard a prospect with a lot of intrigue but an uncertain ceiling.
However, among Green Bay’s 2024 class, Cooper is poised for the biggest Year 2 leap. He saw his snap count totals slowly increase in 2024 as he became more prominent in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense.
In the first five games of the season, Cooper saw no more than 38% of the snaps on defense in any one game. However, Cooper played no fewer than 57% of the snaps on defense in any contest over his next seven games. In the final two games of the year against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, Cooper logged 98% and 93% of the total snaps for Hafley’s defense, respectively.
In 2025, the expectation is for Cooper to be a full-time, three-down starter. And the early results from OTAs haven’t disappointed.
Speaking to reporters following Wednesday’s session, head coach Matt LaFleur raved about Cooper, who has purposefully added a noticeable amount of weight.
He’s so much more confident. Certainly, his body looks different. He’s like 240 lbs. now. The added weight, and he still looks like he’s moving as good as he did a year ago. I’m really excited about him. Just his understanding of the detail of what he’s supposed to do and those around him, that’s going to allow him to play that much faster, which is pretty exciting.
Cooper played at around 220 lbs. as a rookie. The spike to 240 is noticeable and sounds like a blueprint the Packers and Cooper had laid out this offseason.
The former Texas A&M product missed three games as a rookie after suffering a hamstring injury in a November practice. The added weight with consistent speed is vital. Theoretically, going up 20 lbs. should help Cooper stay more durable doing the ups-and-downs of a 17-game regular season as a player entering just his second year in the NFL. Playing inside linebacker, where the goal is to crash into the opposing quarterback or running back, isn’t for the weak.
Cooper piled up 3.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and 13 tackles for loss as a rookie despite playing fewer than 500 snaps. To put that in perspective, the 491 snaps played by Cooper on defense were just 45% of the grand total. That number should double for someone who they will expect to be an every-down player in 2025,
It’s late May, and the offseason is long, but that didn’t stop LaFleur from raving about Cooper.
He looks as explosive as I’ve seen him. We’re really fired up about that… He’s in a lot better place than what he was.
When canvassing the scene of Green Bay’s 2024 class, there’s no doubt about the impact Cooper could and will be expected to have.
Morgan was a first-round pick and is expected to compete for the starting left tackle spot. There’s no guarantee Morgan will be a Week 1 starter, although the Packers would probably prefer that to be the case, given they used a premium pick to snag the former Arizona Wildcat.
Bullard had a full plate as a rookie and could see time at free safety and in the slot again in 2025. His role could diminish depending on whether Jaire Alexander stays in Green Bay.
If all goes well for Lloyd, he could be the backup to starting running back Josh Jacobs. Williams could start alongside Xavier McKinney at safety. After that, the other selections in 2024 are less certain.
Morgan and Williams could help dictate a lot with how the offensive line and the secondary take shape. Bullard can be a pitbull for the defense, while Lloyd provides LaFleur another enticing weapon on offense.
When you talk about the biggest leap in Year 2, though, Cooper takes the cake.
We know Cooper will have a significant role as a full-time starter. He won’t have spot duty like Lloyd, and there isn’t a question about what position he might play, as is the case with Bullard.
Cooper showed that he has the tools to become scary good as a rookie who finished sixth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. It just needs to be seen in a full season. On top of all of it, you’ve got the head coach already raving about how good Cooper looks.
He has the chance to make the largest Year 2 leap of Green Bay’s 2024 class and become one of the best players on a pretty stacked Packers defense. He has breakout star written all over him.