Packers To Host Texas A&M Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper on Top-30 Visit
The Green Bay Packers are on the hunt for a linebacker.
They are switching to a 4-3 base defense, which by its very nature means they'll be looking for more players.
General manager Brian Gutekunst spoke about his linebacker room, indicating a need to add to it this offseason.
“We’ll be a little bit more heavy there, so we’re going to have to add some numbers,” said general manager Brian Gutekunst at the NFL Combine.
“It’s a little thin right now,” Gutekunst said even before he released three-year starter De'Vondre Campbell.
The search for his replacement is on, and the Packers are reportedly will host Texas A&M's Edgerrin Cooper on one of their top-30 visits prior to the draft.
Here's a closer look at the talented former Aggie.
Who Is Edgerrin Cooper?
Texas A&M's season may not have lived up to the hype that back-to-back strong recruiting classes may have indicated, but that was no fault of Cooper.
Cooper was the leader of a defense that finished in the top-10. He led the Aggies in tackles, sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. He was a production machine.
Cooper's production was already tantalizing, then he helped himself by performing well at the Scouting Combine.
He clocked in with a 40-time of 4.52 seconds, which finished second only to NC State's Payton Wilson.
He also broad jumped 9-foot-10-inches and posted a 34.5-inch vertical jump.
Cooper said at the Scouting Combine he models his game after San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowler and Packers nemesis Fred Warner.
“Physically-wise, Ray Lewis, and moving-wise ,Fred Warner. I feel like we got similar body types and I just like to watch how he moves and you know how he just gets off blocks you know just try to pick up little games like that.”
There's little doubt his athleticism caught the Packers' eye.
How He Fits
Daniel Jeremiah's report on Cooper read:
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.
"Long, rangy linebacker with speed and coverage ability" sounds similar to the report on Quay Walker coming out of Georgia.
The Packers hoped to pair Walker with 2021 All-Pro De'Campbell to form one of the best linebacker tandems in football.
Instead, Walker has been inconsistent and Campbell was a shell of the All-Pro version of himself the past two years.
By the end of Campbell's tenure in Green Bay, he was rotating with Isaiah McDuffie.
The fit works in theory if Walker develops and Cooper's learning curve is short once he gets to the NFL.
The Packers need bodies. More importantly, they need an impact player at that position.
Outside of Campbell's big season in 2021, they have not had an impact player at linebacker since Clay Matthews was moved to the middle of the defense in 2014.
Walker has not been consistent enough yet. Cooper and his athleticism offers endless possibilities if both he and Walker can reach their potential.
Round Projection
Cooper is one of the top linebackers in this draft class. He was ranked 42nd on Dane Brugler's Top-100 prospects in The Athletic.
Conversely, he was ranked 24th in Jeremiah's Top 50 rankings.
The Packers first two picks are scheduled to be at Nos. 25 and 41 in April's draft.
They may have to use a first-round pick on an off-ball linebacker for the second time in three years if they want to ensure that they get Cooper. With the perceived weakness of the class, that could push Cooper up draft boards as well if a team falls in love with him.
The likelihood is that Cooper is picked in the top 50, which would be another premium asset used on an inside linebacker, something the Packers typically had not done prior to selecting Walker with the 22nd pick two years ago.
