Edgerrin Cooper was the most exciting man on the Packers defense in 2024.
The Packers slowly introduced him into the lineup last season, but every glimpse was tantalizing. And when they finally released him, he was everything fans — and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley — could have hoped for. He was fast, aggressive and made plays for the Packers left and right.
It’s not just fans who have noticed his success. Despite starting only four games and logging just 491 snaps, Cooper received an All-Pro vote and finished sixth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Even with his limited sample size, Cooper made an impression.
This year, a muscular Cooper looked ready to build on his rookie year success. But it didn’t really happen that way.
Cooper’s plays have all but evaporated. In 11 games, Cooper had just half a sack and two tackles for loss. In 14 games last year, Cooper had 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss. His Pro Football Focus grades, while admittedly not an ironclad measure of success, have declined across the board — he posts worse numbers in every PFF track category. And he’s already matched the 14 missed tackles he posted last year, although, to be fair, he’s already played more snaps than all of last season.
That’s not to say Cooper is playing poorly. I don’t think that’s a fair description of the situation. He’s doing very well in an overall solid Packers defense, one that has changed around him over the past year, even as Cooper himself has changed.
Cooper’s opportunities as a passer have declined significantly this year. According to PFF data, Cooper recorded 56 pass rushes in 549 total defensive snaps. In other words, he was chasing quarterbacks on about 10% of his defensive snaps as a rookie. This year, he rushed the passer on just 45 of 706 defensive snaps, or just over 6%. Cooper’s numbers may be down, at least as a passer, because the Packers aren’t using him the same way.
Once again, Cooper doesn’t play bad. But the way it is used this year diminishes its impact. In a way, it’s good that they can use him the way they are – you don’t need to blitz Cooper when you have Micah Parsons in front doing things with Micah Parsons. But if the Packers want to succeed in the postseason, they need Cooper at his playmaking peak, and that might mean changing his usage a bit as the Packers head down the stretch.
