The Green Bay Packers selected linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (45) in Round 2 Friday.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked to assess his linebackers earlier this offseason.
“Yeah it's a good group. It's a little thin right now,” Gutekunst said of his current linebacker room. “We're going to have to add some numbers.”
Gutekunst did just that Friday, selecting Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the second round. The Packers traded back from pick 41 to 45, added a fifth- and sixth-round pick in that exchange, then took Cooper at No. 45.
Cooper (6-2, 230) was a two-year starter at weak-side linebacker with the Aggies and ran the 40-yard dash in a sizzling 4.51 seconds at the NFL Combine. Cooper had 8.0 sacks in 2023 and finished his A&M career with 204 tackles (30 ½ for loss), three forced fumbles, two picks and 10 passes defensed.
What concerned many teams was Cooper’s score of 11 on the 50-question Wonderlic test.
“Just speed, being able to react,” Cooper said of his greatest strengths. “Guarding fast tight ends, bringing pressure to the QBs. All those little things that can be used in all types of ways.”
For the first time since 2008, the Packers will employ a 4-3 base defense in 2024.
That means outside linebackers are now defensive ends, and players like Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness have left the Packers’ linebacker room.
It also means Green Bay’s remaining linebackers needed help. And lots of it.
Cooper figures to be a good starting point.
“I bring in accountability and build relationships with my teammates and know that if all of my teammates, all of us are on one page, we have one mission, we’ll be able to complete it together,” Cooper said. “I like to bring everything to the table.”
