Edgerrin Cooper had a slow start to his rookie season.
But that is expected when you are a rookie in the NFL.
Injuries took Cooper out for some time and it really affected his development.
Earlier in the year though you saw flashes of what Cooper can do for the Packers defense.
The speed, and reaction to the run, all things you look for in a linebacker.
As the season progressed, so did Cooper as he got better every week.
He earned more playing time and by the end of the year he was on the field more.
By the time the season ended Cooper had 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries .
To add to the list of accomplishments Cooper won two NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
He was named to the 2024 All-Rookie Team
Locked in for year two
During this weeks coordinator press conferences Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley raved about Cooper and what he has been doing in the offseason.
“When you see him now, he looks different. I mean, he’s bigger now,” Hafley said.
Hafley continued by saying Cooper weight was at 240 pounds, a lot bigger than his weight last year at 229 pounds.
Going into year two the Packers are expecting big things out of Cooper, this also includes a bigger role on defense.
Gaining that muscle and weight means that Cooper is ready to take on a bigger role in the Packers defense.
Hafley said ” He knows what he has to do now to stay healthy”.
Consistency in year two
While Jeff Hafley raved about Cooper there are a few things he is looking for in the year 2 jump.
Consistency was a main emphasis for Hafley.
While Cooper was productive in his rookie year, he wasn’t perfect.
His athleticism was able to cover some of his mistakes.
Hafley said. “Now it’s getting the details down. Now it’s lining up exactly where he needs to line up and doing it over and over and over again, because then he’s gonna show up faster and he’s going to make more plays and he’s going to become a more consistent player.”
Conclusion
The year two jump for Edgerrin Cooper is important.
Not only in the development of a player but how the player learns from year one to year two.
While we’ve seen flashes of what Cooper can do, it hasn’t been on a constant basis.
It seems like Edgerrin Cooper though is ready to make the year two jump.
He’s worked on his body and health and is ready to take on a bigger role.
Physically, he is ready, but we’ll have to wait and see if the gameplay with come along with it.
