INDIANAPOLIS – The rookie numbers jump off the page for Edgerrin Cooper.
Seventy-seven tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3½ sacks, seven QB hits, four passes defensed, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Now here's another eye-opening stat: he did all that in just 491 defensive snaps, or 55% of his unit's total on the season.
It's hard not to fantasize about just how impactful Cooper might be when the young linebacker is able to play a full season. That's the Packers' hope in 2025, after the second-round draft pick's rookie year was limited by a hip injury in training camp and then a hamstring injury at midseason.
Making and keeping himself available for the duration of Year 2 is Job 1 for Cooper.
"Like all of our young guys, but Edgerrin's no exception, is just continue to understand that we're basically in a 20-game-plus season, and how you have to prepare not only physically but mentally to handle those challenges," Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Rookie injuries are par for the course in the NFL, as draft picks go straight from their college season into draft preparation, the combine, pro days, rookie minicamp, OTAs, training camp, and then a longer football season than they've ever played.
Two other highly impactful rookies from the Packers' 2024 draft class – safeties Javon Bullard and Evan Williams – got hit with injuries at different times, too.
When the season ended, both of them discussed their focus on health moving forward, and looking to veteran players to learn the ropes in that regard.
"After the guys get through their first year, there's a big exhale," Gutekunst said. "And then there's an understanding of what this is, and what I've got to do to play at my best week in and week out, and get myself the best chance to stay healthy. That's part of it."
To say Cooper maximized his time on the field in 2024 doesn't quite do it justice.
Twice he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. After returning from a three-game hamstring absence, he was named the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for December/January. Ultimately, the Texas A&M product finished sixth in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting despite starting just four games.
Another testament to his impact was the 10 tackles he recorded on special-teams coverage, most on the squad – in just 86 snaps.
To put one of those flashy stats from earlier in perspective, his 13 tackles for loss were the most by a Green Bay rookie in 15 years – since eventual six-time Pro Bowler Clay Matthews had 17 in 2009.
Cooper just had to be brought along slowly when the 2024 season started because he missed most of training camp with the injured hip.
He was at practice as much as he could be, standing behind the defense to backpedal and react like his teammates, getting as many mental reps as possible.
Once healthy and able to play, the coaches' approach as Gutekunst put it was to "get him into a comfort zone," see what he could do, and go from there.
"That's when you're going to see their true talent come out," he said. "He hit a stretch there in the middle of the season where he was just really comfortable with what we were doing defensively, with his teammates, and everything around him.
"And he's a little different than some."
That difference is in his speed. At 6-2, 229, Cooper's speed when moving in any direction – attacking downhill or dropping into a deep zone – tilts the field. Blockers missed their angles and ball carriers failed to avoid him in part because they were caught off-guard by how quickly he closes ground.
That's how he racked up all those stats in less than 500 snaps, and while his game wasn't perfect, the first impression was off the charts.
The next step is to stay off the injury report.
"When he was on the field, he was dynamic and it changed our football team," Gutekunst said. "Part of his maturation is making sure he's himself, ready to be out there each and every week."
