GREEN BAY — Edgerrin Cooper has had a few brief conversations with two of the people who you could argue will have the greatest impact on the Green Bay Packers third-year linebacker’s performance this season.
One is new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who takes over for Jeff Hafley after Hafley became the Miami Dolphins head coach earlier this season.
The other is veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin, who was acquired in a player-for-player trade with the Indianapolis Colts for defensive tackle Colby Wooden in March. Franklin becomes Cooper’s new primary runningmate at linebacker after the team watched four-year starter Quay Walker leave in free agency and join the Las Vegas Raiders.
Alas, to hear Cooper tell it, those discussions have been, well, brief.
“We chatted a little bit, but [there’s] a lot going on right now,” Cooper said as he, team president/CEO Ed Policy and some alumni players departed Lambeau Field on a bus for the annual Tailgate Tour last week. “I’m just letting everybody settle in. Once we talk into these doors, that’s when the business is going to happen.
“It’s a fresh start and I’m really looking forward to what’s going to happen.”
Exactly how different things will be on Cooper’s side of the ball with Gannon in charge is hard to know. Gannon does apparently plan to switch from Hafley’s 4-3 to a 3-4 base system, although like Hafley he prefers to adjust to his personnel and runs sub packages about 80% of the time.
And evidently Cooper, whose impact plays dropped from a boffo rookie year (3.5 sacks, an interception, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, four pass breakups) to a solid Year 2 with very few splash plays (118 tackles, but no interceptions and just a half-sack), didn’t really talk about many specifics with Gannon.
“Seemed like great people already,” Cooper said of Gannon. “I’m just excited. Once he’s here and I’m here, I’m ready to show him more of what I can do.”
A new defensive coordinator isn’t the only change. A Cooper-Walker tandem seemed like general manager Brian Gutekunst’s long-term plan at the position, with the Packers offering Walker an extension early in the season that Walker chose not to sign.
The Packers continued to work toward a deal as free agency approached in March, but Walker ultimately opted for the Raiders and sounded like he felt he was miscast in Green Bay in both Joe Barry and Hafley’s schemes.
Enter Franklin, an All-Pro selection in 2024, when he led the NFL in tackles. He not only crossed paths with Gannon in Indianapolis, but Gutekunst had actually had his eye on him for years.
“We’ve like Zaire for a while, quite frankly. Back when he was not starting in Indy in his first few years, he was a really good special teams player [and] we tried to acquire him then,” Gutekunst said at the annual NFL Meetings in Arizona.
“He’s been a really good player for a long time. Obviously a very good leader as well, [having been a] captain there. So, as we realized it was going to be really tough to get Quay back, I wanted to make sure we had an answer at middle linebacker, particularly one that might have some veteran presence. And I think we were excited to accomplish that.”
As a result, the linebacker position is in flux as the offseason program kicks off on Monday.
“It’s a part of the business. You never know what to expect,” Cooper said. “It’s sad seeing those guys leave, but it’s part of it. It’s the business. It happens with everyone. We’re going to go forward.”
Packers depth chart
44 Zaire Franklin 6-0 235 29 9 Syracuse
56 Edgerrin Cooper 6-2 229 24 3 Texas A&M
58 Isaiah McDuffie 6-1 227 26 6 Boston College
59 Ty’Ron Hopper 6-2 228 24 3 Missouri
54 Kristian Welch 6-3 240 27 7 Iowa
31 Nick Niemann 6-3 234 28 6 Iowa
Best in class | Sonny Styles, Ohio State.
The 6-foot-5, 244-pound Styles started his college career as a safety, and his potential versatility at the next level has NFL teams thinking he’s worth taking with a first-round pick even in a league where fewer and fewer off-the-ball linebackers are taken on Day 1.
A first-team All-American for the Buckeyes last season, when he registered a team-high 82 tackles along with a sack, a fumble and an interception, Styles is good in space and has an excellent football IQ to go along with strong instincts.
That combination should make him an immediate contributor as soon as he arrives at the next level.
“A lot of teams, I think they want to know and I want to show them that I am aware what I need to get better at. I want to show them I’m an intelligent player, I’m not just a guy out there running and hitting,” Styles said. “That’s part of the game, too, but you’ve got to be a smart football player, especially in the NFL. And then, I’m a very versatile linebacker. I think I can do a lot for a defense.”
Next men up | Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech; CJ Allen, Georgia; Jake Golday, Cincinnati; Anthony Hill Jr., Texas; Josiah Trotter, Missouri.
Pick to click | TJ Quinn, Louisville.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Quinn may not even get drafted, but the Packers felt he merited using one of their 30 allotted pre-draft visits on him. He led the Cardinals each of the past three seasons, was twice an All-ACC selection and played nearly 2,200 career defensive snaps.
Like Styles, he started out as a safety but transitioned to linebacker.
“What stands out the most about my film is you will see some of everything in it,” Styles, who finished his career with 289 tackles, five sacks and 15 tackles for loss, told NFL Draft Diamonds. “I am a versatile player who makes plays sideline to sideline. I am an eraser and whenever there is a mistake I am there to fix it. I am someone who can make plays in all parts of the game.”
History lesson | Gutekunst’s selection of Walker at No. 22 in 2022 represented a clear shift in how the Packers view the linebacker position — even before transitioning to the 4-3 defense under Hafley in 2024.
Walker’s selection marked the earliest pick the Packers had used on a true linebacker — not a 3-4 edge rusher like Clay Matthews or Rashan Gary — since Gutekunst’s predecessor, Ted Thompson, took Ohio State’s A.J. Hawk with the No. 5 overall pick in 2006.
Two years after taking Walker, Gutekunst doubled down in the 2024 draft, taking Cooper in the second round and Hopper in the third. And knowing that Walker was likely to depart after turning down an in-season contract extension offer, he acquired Franklin in a trade.
With eight picks to work with as of now, it’s hard to imagine Gutekunst coming out of the draft without having added at least another linebacker to the mix.
PACKERS 2026 NFL DRAFT PREVIEW SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 12 — QUARTERBACKS
Monday, April 13 — RUNNING BACKS
Tuesday, April 14 — WIDE RECEIVERS
Wednesday, April 15 — TIGHT ENDS
Thursday, April 16 — OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Friday, April 17 — DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Saturday, April 18 — EDGE RUSHERS
Sunday, April 19 — LINEBACKERS
Monday, April 20 — CORNERBACKS
Tuesday, April 21 — SAFETIES
Wednesday, April 22 — SPECIALISTS
Thursday, April 23 — DRAFT DAY PREVIEW
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