Packer Central

Edgerrin Cooper: Packers’ Not-So-Secret Weapon to Limiting Saquon Barkley

With the Packers set to face Eagles star Saquon Barkley in Sunday’s playoff game, perhaps rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper will be the defensive X-factor.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) celebrates with cornerback Carrington Valentine after making a tackle.
Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) celebrates with cornerback Carrington Valentine after making a tackle. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – When the Green Bay Packers kicked off the season in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles, rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper played 11 defensive snaps in his NFL debut.

In getting ready for the rematch, Sunday’s NFC wild-card matchup in Philadelphia, Cooper watched the game – and himself – this week.

“I had a few good plays and little hiccups here and there, but that’s part of growth and that’s what I’m here for,” Cooper said on Wednesday.

As the year has progressed, Cooper has gone from his own hiccups to causing opposing coordinators to suffer from indigestion. In the process, he has become one of the most important players on the roster.

On Sunday, Cooper will take center stage as the Packers try to stop the NFL’s rushing leader, Saquon Barkley.

The coaches have repeatedly tapped on the brakes of the hype train. Yes, he’s made a bunch of impact plays, they’ve said, but he’s also left a bunch of plays on the field.

But Cooper’s athleticism, instincts and physicality are impossible to ignore, and they could be a big factor in at least limiting Barkley, whose 2,005 rushing yards are more than 20 teams.

Taken at No. 45 of the second round of this year’s draft, Cooper was the first off-the-ball linebacker selected. He has played to that level. The draft-class comparison is staggering.

Tackles: Second, 87. (Tyrice Knight, Seahawks, 88)

Solo tackles: First, 57. (Payton Wilson, Steelers, 49).

Tackles for losses: First, 13. (Marist Liufau, Cowboys, 4).

Sacks: First, 3.5. (Liufau, 1.5).

Quarterback hits: First, 7. (Knight, 4).

Interceptions: Tied for first, 1 (Liufau and Wilson, 1).

Passes defensed: First, 4. (Liufau, 3).

Even while missing three games and starting only four, Cooper among all rookie defenders finished fifth in tackles, third in solo tackles and first in tackles for losses.

Among all off-the-ball linebackers, regardless of experience, Cooper led the NFL with 13 TFLs.

Cooper – aka Frosty – became the first player since 2000 with at least 12 tackles for losses on defense and 10 tackles on special teams, according to TruMedia.

“By far. A long, long, long way,” he said of his growth. “Just watching the film from me earlier this year, it’s like, ‘Ugh,’ what I was doing?’”

Now, it’s more like what can’t he do?

According to Pro Football Focus, 55 off-the-ball linebackers have played at least 40 pass-rushing snaps. Cooper ranks second in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

Meanwhile, 72 off-the-ball linebackers have played at least 185 run-defending snaps, which is Cooper’s number. Cooper ranks second in PFF’s run-stop percentage, which is defined as a solo tackle that results in a “stop” for the defense. A “stop” matches Green Bay’s win/loss grading system. A tackle on first-and-10 that limits the play to 3 yards, a tackle on second down that allows less than half the required yardage and a tackle on third or fourth down that prevents a first down is a “stop” or a “win.”

Cooper’s average tackle on a running play has limited the gain to 2.5 yards, the ninth-best mark at his position.

While Cooper has given up too many catches and missed too many tackles, those flashes of brilliance are why he went from 14.5 percent and 12.5 percent playing time in Weeks 1 and 2 to 98.6 percent and 93.5 percent playing time in Weeks 17 and 18.

“He’s an instinctual player,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said last week. “For the most times, he’s where he’s supposed to be. If he feels like he can go through a gap and make the play before it gets into his gap, there’s times where he does that, too. We pressure him a lot, which helps. He goes and gets the football.

“But, for the most part, he’s where he’s supposed to be. In other times, he’s an instinctual guy who gets there probably quicker than most. But I get it. I totally see what everybody sees. If you turn on the TV copy of that guy, you can make a 12-play cut-up and it’s just like, ‘Whoa.’ The way he runs people down, the way he weaves under gaps and shows up behind the line of scrimmage [has been impressive.]”

In the first four games, Cooper had one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit and no games with more than four tackles. Since coming back from a hamstring injury that kept him out for three games, Cooper the last four games has produced 35 tackles, seven tackles for losses and three quarterback hits.

“He’s got a lot of natural ability, and he’s getting better and better,” Hafley continued. “I think what you’re starting to see, too, is we are going to be able to, bit by bit as he grows, put him in some pretty fun positions. What a great draft pick and what a great person. He loves ball. He’s got a really bright future.”

And so does the defense. The Packers are 4-0 when he has at least a half-sack and are 7-1 when he has a tackle for loss; the exception is when he had four TFLs against the Vikings.

Cooper doesn’t have a lot to say during his media sessions. Instead, he lets his play do the talking.

“I just listen to the play call and look at my assignment,” Cooper said, “and just try to whoop the man in front of me. That’s it.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.