'Ready To Step It Up!' Texas A&M Aggies LB Edgerrin Cooper Excited to Join Packers

Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has a chance to do something special in Green Bay

Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne (1) runs the ball / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas A&M Aggies might not have had a Day 1 pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday. But they didn't have to wait long for one to come off of the board on Friday.

With the No. 45 overall pick in the second round, the Green Bay Packers picked star Aggies linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. The pick made Cooper the first Texas A&M linebacker taken in the draft since 2021 (Buddy Johnson) and just the second in the last decade.

And after a stellar season in which he was arguably the best linebacker in all of college football, Cooper is excited to take his talents to the next level.

Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne (1) runs the ball / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s a sigh of relief, knowing how far I came and just ready to step it up at the next level,” Cooper said in a Zoom call. “That’s it, ready to make the next move.”

Cooper, who finished last season as a consensus All-American with 84 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and eight sacks, had a good feeling about Green Bay from the beginning of the process.

In fact, heading into the draft, it was clear to him the Packers were one of the teams that could end up being one of his potential landing spots, in large part due to the love and support the team showed during his visit to Green Bay.

“When I went to go visit them, I felt a lot of energy from them, from the coaches, the love and support from them,” Cooper said. “I had an idea, you know, just talking to them. Sometimes you just know a person’s really interested in you. That’s the feeling that I got.”

Cooper, who will likely start at the Mike for Green Bay from Day 1, now joins super-athletic weak side linebacker Quay Walker in the Packers' 3-4 defense, forming one of the most dynamic and talented young linebacker combos in the NFL for next season.

And for Cooper, the possibility of playing alongside another linebacker with Walker's talents, is a dream come true.

“That was something I always thought of – playing with another fast linebacker,” Cooper said of playing alongside Walker. “Our defense, being able to go sideline to sideline, having two weapons on the field like that, I feel like could be very dangerous.”