The evaluation of Edgerrin Cooper’s second season is an interesting one, as he became a much more regular and important part of the Green Bay Packers defense in 2025.
A second-round pick in 2024, Cooper burst onto the scene and displayed electrifying play-making ability at linebacker as a rookie. His 2025 season was more understated.
The underlying numbers, displayed by his percentile ranks at the linebacker position, tell a story of how his role changed between his first and second seasons in Green Bay.
First to note is that Cooper went from a part-time to full-time player in 2025.
His snap count almost doubled from 549 to 1,089 snaps, starting 17 games (the only game he did not play was the dead rubber against the Vikings in Week 18) between the regular season and playoffs, up from only five starts as a rookie.
This coincided with a noticeable drop off in the kind of splash plays Cooper produced in his first season. He had two combined forced fumbles and interceptions in 2025, which was the same number as 2024, but on a far greater snap count.
As a pass rusher, Cooper had four sacks and a further three quarterback hits as a rookie per PFF, compared to only one sack and two quarterback hits on 11 more pass rush reps last year.
Producing four sacks in only 59 pass rush opportunities as a rookie was always likely to be unsustainable, but Cooper was noticeably less impactful in getting after the quarterback in 2025.
New coordinator Jonathan Gannon experimented with using Cooper as a pass-rushing outside linebacker during the offseason program. Perhaps this could unlock him in that aspect once more, or at least could put opposing offenses in a quandary on obvious pass downs, due to not knowing whether Cooper will rush or drop back in coverage.
His effectiveness against the run was reduced in 2025, as his snap count more than doubled but his production did not keep pace.
Cooper’s run stop tally only increased from 39 to 50, while his missed tackle rate ticked up from 12% to 12.7%, and his average depth of tackle went from 2.5 yards to 4.0.
It is worth questioning whether this was due to his usage. After being allowed to play with his hair on fire and not think too much as a rookie, he took on more responsibility as an every-down linebacker, and was perhaps asked to do more diagnosing, and therefore play more cautiously.
Despite the watered down production, previous defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley repeatedly said during last season that Cooper was playing better football than as a rookie, when his coach regularly mentioned Cooper was not where he was supposed to be, even when he made a positive play.
The hope entering 2026 will be that the presence of a veteran, steady hand in Zaire Franklin will free up Cooper to get back to his ‘hair on fire’ play style, or that after a year in an increased role, Cooper can improve as an all-around, responsible linebacker. Maybe it will be a bit of both.
The most notable improvement in Cooper’s game between his first and second seasons came in coverage.
Like in the run game, his snap count more than doubled, and he was still able to post better ‘per-snap’ statistics in most categories. Cooper allowed only 164 extra yards on an additional 300 coverage snaps in 2025.
His PFF man coverage grade rose from 65.8 to 74.6, which ranked 21st in the league. Cooper’s zone grade fell, but was still good enough to rank fifth in the league with an 81.4 grade, down from second place with an 87.7 grade as a rookie.
Overall, he went from a slightly below average cover linebacker to just above average.
Entering 2026, the goal for Cooper will be to blend the playmaking he showed as a rookie with the more ‘boring’ aspects he was asked to fulfill in Year 2, while also adapting to a new defense. Year 3 will be a crucial one for Cooper.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How Edgerrin Cooper’s role in Packers defense evolved in Year 2
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire | USA TODAY Network
