Three Concerning Questions for Packers at Linebacker After Big Change

Linebacker might be the best position on the Green Bay Packers’ roster headed into training camp.

After a rookie season filled with impact plays, Edgerrin Cooper delivered a consistently solid second season. Knowing they weren’t going to be able to re-sign Quay Walker, they traded for Zaire Franklin. Combined, they could have the best set of big-play linebackers in the NFL.

“I just feel like our games truly marry perfectly,” Franklin said. “He’s long, he’s rangy, he’s running and, obviously, and I’m striking, but I’m also setting the front and getting everything together, too, so allowing him to be the best version of himself. It feels good.”

Waiting in the wings are Isaiah McDuffie, who recently signed a contract extension after starting 29 games the past two seasons, and Ty’Ron Hopper, a third-round pick in 2024. Backup linebackers must play special teams. McDuffie, Hopper, Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch all have strong resumes.

That doesn’t mean we can skip the position in our Three Questions series, because there are some legit issues.

1. Can Edgerrin Cooper Find Next Gear?

Edgerrin Cooper is considered one of the best linebackers in the NFL. In Jeremy Fowler’s position rankings at ESPN.com, which are conducted with NFL scouts, executives and coaches, Cooper finished ninth.

“He has the size, speed and run-and-hit ability that few have,” a coach told Fowler. “He can really go.”

Speed is the name of Cooper’s game, but he’s not just an athlete.

“I ain’t realize he was that big,” Franklin said. “He kind of tall. I said, ‘All right, (I thought) he was just fast.’ When I first got traded, I watched a bunch of the Green Bay games just to kind of get familiar with my teammates and just watching him make play after play and be physical and making plays in coverage.”

Cooper finished second on the team with 117 tackles. The big-play tackles, however, disappeared. As a rookie second-round pick in 2024, when Cooper played in 14 games with four starts and 491 snaps, he recorded 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles for losses. With sky-high expectations in 2025, Cooper played in 16 games (all starts) and topped 1,000 snaps. He had a half-sack and four tackles for losses.

“I feel like my second year had a little slump early in the season, but it happens,” Cooper said. “It’s about how you respond. I felt like I did a good job responding, played decent ball at the end of the season. I’m just ready to elevate.”

Cooper elevated during the offseason practices, when he was about as dominant as a linebacker can be during a shorts-and-helmets practice. During minicamp, Josh Jacobs had a big opening to the left side of the center. Cooper, lined up on the left side of the defense, ran him down from the back side for a minimal gain. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon turned to a couple of coaches and smiled.

“It’s his mind. He sees it and can anticipate,” an AFC official told Fowler.

Especially without Micah Parsons to start the season, the Packers are short on front-seven playmakers. Cooper can be that game-changing weapon. It’ll be up to Gannon to get him going.

2. Is Zaire Franklin Still an Impact Player?

In 2024, Zaire Franklin was second-team All-Pro following a blockbuster season of 173 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for losses, two interceptions and five forced fumbles. Franklin led the league in tackles; it was his third in a row in which he averaged more than 10 tackles per game.

In 2025, Franklin’s production fell sharply to 125 tackles, two sacks, seven tackles for losses, zero interceptions and one forced fumble. He averaged 7.35 tackles per game and went from a combined seven forced fumbles and interceptions to one.

The man Franklin is replacing, Quay Walker, had his flaws – he didn’t make many impact plays, either – but he was young, ascending and coming off his best season. Franklin turned 30 a couple weeks ago and is coming off a down season (though on par with Walker’s best).

“My career lows are some guys’ career highs,” Franklin said.

New Packers LB Zaire Franklin (@ZiggySmalls_) has been an impact player. He's made a bigger impact off the field through Shelice's Angels, the foundation he named after his late mom.

“She really told me to dream bigger than what was around me.” ⬇️https://t.co/SSwosTEPvP
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 24, 2026

The Packers traded their best run-defending defensive lineman, Colby Wooden, to acquire Franklin. They’ll need Franklin to get back to his previous production, especially with the big plays after Green Bay’s takeaway count plummeted.

“Zaire’s been awesome,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Just a real leader, an alpha. You can feel him. (He) does a great job communicating. He wears the green dot, and so naturally you’re the quarterback of the defense. I think he holds himself to a high standard, and he holds those around him to a high standard.”

After eight seasons with the Colts in which he missed only one game, Franklin is ready for the challenge.

“First and foremost, I understand where this team is and what’s expected of them,” he said. “The standard here is clear. That’s an organizational thing. It’s a first-class organization and I’m just blessed to be here, and anything I can do to help the team win, to help lead the guys, I’m willing to do. I came here with a Day 1 mentality, I’m trying to earn my spot every day.”

3. What’s the Future of Ty’Ron Hopper?

With the third-round pick acquired from Buffalo in the Rasul Douglas trade, the Packers in 2024 selected Ty’Ron Hopper.

He’s been mostly a nonfactor. In 34 games with two starts, he has 33 tackles, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble while logging 144 snaps on defense. He added an interception in the playoff game.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper (59) intercepts a pass intended for Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Typically, a draft-and-develop team like the Packers would have drafted Hopper and developed him into Quay Walker’s replacement. Instead, the Packers traded for Zaire Franklin.

Hopper was the 91st pick of the 2024 draft. The next off-the-ball linebacker, taken at No. 98, was the Steelers’ Payton Wilson, who had 126 tackles last season. The next off-the-ball linebacker selected after Wilson was the Giants’ Cedric Gray, who had 164 tackles last season.

Last week, the Packers signed Isaiah McDuffie to a contract extension. A starter in the old 4-3 defense, he might be the next man up in the new 3-4, which would leave Hopper as LB4. The alternative would be having McDuffie as the backup to Franklin and Hopper as the backup to Cooper.

Related: Here are three questions about the receivers, offensive line, tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks. The defense led off with the defensive tackles and continued with the edge defenders.

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