Packers Training Camp Preview: Linebacker Battles, X-Factor, Game-Changer

GREEN BAY, Wis. – During minicamp in 2021, the Green Bay Packers signed De’Vondre Campbell. After Campbell turned in an All-Pro season, the Packers used their first-round pick in 2022 on Quay Walker in hope of building a super-tandem at linebacker.

That didn’t happen. Could the Packers have that dynamic duo with Edgerrin Cooper and Walker? They lead the linebackers headed into the start of training camp.

Coming and Going

The Packers lost one of their key backups, Eric Wilson, in free agency. Wilson, who finished seventh on the team in tackles on defense, sixth in tackles for losses and second in tackles on special teams, returned to the Vikings, for whom he started his career.

The Packers signed three potential replacements that run the gamut in terms of pedigree with Isaiah Simmons, Kristian Welch and Jamon Johnson.

Biggest Battle: Last Spot on Depth Chart

There’s little doubt the Packers will roll into the season with Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and last year’s third-round pick, Ty’Ron Hopper, filling four spots on the Week 1 depth chart. Who will be No. 5? The Packers have three promising options.

One was Isaiah Simmons, the eighth pick of the 2020 draft by the Cardinals. With an elite combination of size and athleticism, Simmons has some excellent production on his resume. In 2021, he had 105 tackles, four forced fumbles and seven passes defensed. In 2022, he had 99 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and seven passes defensed.

The Cardinals traded Simmons to the Giants, where he mostly languished on the bench for two seasons. He believes he can resurrect his career in Green Bay. The Packers are letting him lock in at linebacker rather than trying him at safety or even in the slot, two spots where he’s seen considerable action in his career.

“My versatility, I feel like it’s a little bit of a gift and a curse, where they want you to do everything but, at the end of the day, I’m still a human,” Simmons said.

Another veteran option is Kristian Welch, the Wisconsin native who played for the Packers in 2023 and had an excellent training camp last summer but fell short of a roster spot. He hasn’t played much defense in his career but has considerable pedigree on special teams. Because the top of the depth chart is strong, special teams could be the difference in this battle.

Finally, they signed Kentucky’s Jamon Johnson as an undrafted free agent. The Packers love young (and inexpensive), so that could be the edge for Johnson, who was an All-American at Georgia before transferring for his final season. The Packers guaranteed $100,000 of salary for a player who was deemed one of the best run-stopping linebackers in the class.

Game-Changer: Edgerrin Cooper

The Packers made Edgerrin Cooper the first linebacker off the board as a second-round pick in 2024. An injury in training camp meant limited playing time to start the season and another injury sidelined him for three games later in the season. Through the first 15 weeks of the season, Cooper had only two games of 40-plus snaps. He didn’t get to three-quarters playing time until playing almost all the snaps during the final two games of the season.

Cooper ranked 33rd among all defensive rookies in snaps but was fifth in total tackles, third in solo tackles and first in tackles for losses. Cooper’s 13 tackles for losses not only led the entire rookie class: Of all rookies over the last 25 drafts who played less than 500 snaps, they were more than the next two players combined.

“Just the way he worked and attacked learning and working on his craft every day, it was really impressive,” new linebackers coach Sean Duggan said. “And you saw a payoff, right? He got better and better throughout the year. He’s in a great head space where he’s eager, he’s ready to get going. But he understands we still got a long way to go, and there’s a lot of things he can still get better at.”

Cooper is bigger than last year and more experienced. He has star quality with a chance to change a game at a moment’s notice.

X-Factor: Quay Walker

Packers linebacker Quay Walker tries to tackle Cardinals running back Emari Demercado last season. | Tork Mason/USA Today / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quay Walker is underrated by most fans and perhaps overrated by the coaches. A first-round pick in 2022, Walker has been a solid starter. He hasn’t made enough plays. He’s allowed too many plays in coverage. He’s made some costly mistakes, both mental and physical, including a career-worst 18 missed tackles last year.

So, he’s not a perfect player. But he’s been a solid and productive member of the defense with three consecutive 100-tackle seasons and a career-high nine tackles for losses in 13 games last season. The team declined the fifth-year option, instead opting to work toward a contract extension.

This will be Year 2 as the team’s middle linebacker. He seemed to be hitting his stride in that role until he was injured at Seattle and missed the final three games of the regular season.

“The more you do certain things, you’re going to get better at it,” linebackers coach Sean Duggan said before OTAs. “You’re going to start to anticipate plays instead of reacting to plays. So, I think he’s going to be more comfortable just because it’s every time now is the second or third time he’s heard something.

“And then just playing with confidence, going out there knowing what you’re doing. Now, you’re kind of looking at the offense, kind of seeing, ‘All right, they’re in this formation, I’m expecting this,’ so I can play a step faster. So, confidence and just being comfortable in the scheme.”

If confidence and comfortability turn into production, Green Bay’s defense could be dominant. However, after three seasons, is he actually capable of reaching that next level?

Under the Radar: Isaiah McDuffie

Isaiah McDuffie is similar to Quay Walker in one way: The Packers like him more than you probably do. That’s why they signed him to a two-year contract worth $8 million to prevent him from reaching free agency.

After starting zero games as a rookie in 2021, one game in 2022 and eight games in 2023, he got the call in all 17 games in 2024. He set a career high with 97 tackles. With some liabilities in coverage – only one linebacker allowed more touchdowns than McDuffie (five), according to PFF – he probably should be a two-down linebacker. With Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker on the roster, that probably will be the case this season.

Noteworthy Number

6.39: Last season, Edgerrin Cooper played 491 snaps on defense and recorded 77 tackles. That works out to one tackle for every 6.39 snaps. The Colts’ Zaire Franklin led the NFL with 171 tackles. He played 1,156 snaps, so he averaged one tackle for every 6.76 snaps. Viewed another way, if Cooper had played as many snaps as Franklin while keeping the same pace, he would have recorded 181 tackles.

Roster Projection

Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaian McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper and Isaiah Simmons.

Key to Success: Edgerrin Cooper Taking Step Toward Stardom

The Packers’ two best players on the defensive line, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary, are entering Year 10 and Year 7, respectively. Their best player in the secondary, Xavier McKinney, had eight interceptions last season. It’s hard to envision any player improving on that number.

Where there’s legit upside on defense is with Edgerrin Cooper, the All-Rookie selection who had more tackles for losses than any other NFL linebacker, even though he played only 45.1 percent of the defensive snaps. Cooper’s athleticism and instincts are elite. With considerable experience to help him mentally and additional muscle to help him physically, Cooper’s upside could turn Green Bay’s defense from good to great.

“Man, I expect him just to leave off where he left,” Gary said. “He understands when he’s rolling high, the defense feeds off it, and he needs to keep on being what he’s being, and that’s a dog.”

Said McKinney: “He had a hell of a first year and he’s just going to keep building. He knows how talented he is, so we just got to keep pushing him, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do. But, for the most part, he’s self-motivated.

“We already know what he’s capable of and what he wants to do, and he got bigger. You could tell that he’s serious about what he wants to do and he’s being very intentional about it, as well. So, I expect more from him – we all do – and I know he expects that for himself, as well. Just going to be a matter of us continuing to push him, him continuing to push himself and we going to be good.”

Packers Training Camp Previews

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