'Instinctive and Explosive!' Expert Ranks Texas A&M's Edgerinn Cooper As A Top NFL Draft Prospect
The Texas A&M Aggies lost arguably their best defensive player this last month, with linebacker Edgerrin Cooper declaring for the NFL Draft following the conclusion of the regular season.
And so far through the pre-draft process, Cooper has received rave reviews from NFL Draft experts across the country, coming in as one of the highest-rated defensive prospects in the class.
That list of experts includes renowned NFL.com Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah, who ranked Cooper as the No. 20 overall prospect in the class on Tuesday.
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Said Jeremiah:
Cooper is a long, rangy linebacker with excellent speed and coverage ability. Against the pass, he is very smooth in his drops, playing with vision and awareness. He is very comfortable in man coverage and has plenty of speed to carry tight ends up the seam. He is an explosive blitzer and has shown the ability to separate the quarterback from the ball. Against the run, he is quick to fill in the hole and displays stopping power as a tackler. He will have some fly-by missed tackles when in lateral pursuit. Overall, Cooper is an instinctive and explosive prospect who generates a bunch of splash plays. He's ready to start right away, and I believe his best football is still ahead of him.
A native of Covington, La., Cooper posted one of the best seasons for an A&M defensive player in recent memory. Leading the SEC in tackles for loss (17), Cooper posted a career-high and team-leading 84 tackles. He also led A&M and tied for fourth in the SEC with eight sacks.
Cooper also led A&M with 10 quarterback pressures and recorded two pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles.
The award season was also kind to Cooper, with the linebacker being named a consensus First-Team All-American by the Associated Press. He also garnered First Team All-SEC accolades, was named a First Team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, The Athletic and CBS Sports, and a Second Team All-American by the FWAA.
For his Aggie career, Cooper finished with 205 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
