"Pre-draft picture" is a position-by-position look at the Packers' roster heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. The series continues with the linebackers.
GREEN BAY – The Packers made a major investment at linebacker in last year's draft, and the payoff may have only just begun.
Spending a second-round pick on Edgerrin Cooper and a third-rounder on Ty'Ron Hopper didn't change the look of Jeff Hafley's defense much early on in 2024, as both dealt with injuries as rookies.
But once Cooper got healthy and began playing regularly alongside Quay Walker, his impact was undeniable. From mid-October through the end of the season – despite missing a three-game stretch due to a hamstring injury – Cooper recorded at least seven tackles in all but one game, tallied 11 of his 13 tackles for loss, plus two of his 3½ sacks and his lone interception.
He won a pair of NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, was named the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for December/January, and wound up sixth in the voting for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. All in just under 500 defensive snaps (491).
What Cooper (6-2, 229) might be able to do over a full season is the question on everyone's mind, particularly if the Packers can also keep Walker healthy. A first-round pick in 2022, Walker (6-4, 241) missed four games last season but still led the team in tackles and topped 100 total for the third straight year.
With the fifth-year option decision on Walker looming by early May, General Manager Brian Gutekunst has made statements indicating he envisions Walker as a long-term defensive mainstay for the Packers.
His pairing with Cooper in the nickel package – which is played most often – is the standard look Hafley would like to employ, with the idea that the more they can play together the better they'll be. It's worth pointing out the only game, due to each's injuries and recoveries, Walker and Cooper started together was the wild-card playoff at Philadelphia to end the season.
The base defense does need a third linebacker, though, and that's shaping up to be a competition between Hopper and returning veteran Isaiah McDuffie.
Hopper (6-2, 228) played sparingly on defense as a rookie but showed good instincts and plenty of pop in his pads during preseason action after returning from injury. He also was a regular on special teams throughout the season, posting seven coverage tackles.
Special teams is where McDuffie (6-1, 227), a sixth-round pick in 2021, first carved out his place on the team before starting 25 games over the past two seasons, proving to be both valuable and reliable when the linebacking corps wasn't at full strength.
McDuffie, who's posted 176 tackles over the past two seasons, was set to hit free agency but re-signed with the Packers, an indication of his comfort level with Hafley and his scheme. Hafley was McDuffie's head coach for his final year at Boston College, and his position coach for that 2020 season was Sean Duggan – whom Matt LaFleur hired to the defensive staff last year and has now promoted to linebackers coach for 2025.
The only other linebacker on the current roster is another returnee, Wisconsin native Kristian Welch, who is back for his second stint in Green Bay.
After four seasons in Baltimore, Welch (6-3, 240) signed to the Packers' practice squad to begin 2023. He was promoted to the active roster by the end of September and became a standout on special teams the rest of that season, recording six coverage tackles.
He was one of the Packers' top defensive performers in the preseason last summer, but his bid for a roster spot came up short, with Gutekunst even lamenting letting him go after such a strong push to make the team. He signed with the Broncos, then returned to the Ravens last fall, but was available again as a free agent in March and now gets another shot in Green Bay.
Having just five linebackers leaves the Packers thin numbers-wise for the 90-man offseason roster, so Gutekunst will be looking to add to the group in the draft and/or undrafted free agency.
But given he spent a pair of top 100 picks at the position last year, has discussed keeping Walker around long-term, and re-signed two veterans, linebacker doesn't appear to be a high priority for the Packers' premium draft assets.
Pre-Draft Roster Series:
