GREEN BAY \u2014 At one point during the opening week of his Green Bay Packers\u2019 organized team activity practices, head coach Matt LaFleur turned to defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and marveled at what he was seeing from Edgerrin Cooper.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s be clear here. First, the vast majority of periods during the helmet-and-shorts practices aren\u2019t supposed to be at full speed. And second, it wasn\u2019t as if LaFleur hadn\u2019t seen how special Cooper could be during the athletic linebacker\u2019s rookie season last year.<\/p>\n
But seeing how Cooper looked physically (having bulked up to 240 pounds after reporting to training camp last year at 220) and how he was moving during the drills (looking as explosive as ever, despite the additional weight), LaFleur was having a hard time not getting excited about what lies ahead for him in Year 2.<\/p>\n
And he told Hafley as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were talking about it on the grass when we went out there,\u201d recounted LaFleur, whose team has another open-to-the-media OTA practice set for Tuesday. \u201cHe\u2019s so much more confident. Certainly, his body looks different.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, [despite] the added weight, he still looks like he\u2019s moving as good as he did a year ago. So, I\u2019m really excited about him, just his understanding of the detail of what he\u2019s supposed to do, and those around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think are going to allow him to play that much faster, which is pretty exciting. He looks as explosive as I\u2019ve seen him, so we\u2019re really fired up about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re not the only ones. First-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney had a front-row \u2014 or back-row, depending on how you look at it \u2014 seat for Cooper\u2019s rookie exploits, lining up behind him and watching him tilt the field in the Packers\u2019 favor time and again last season.<\/p>\n
As a rookie second-round pick from Texas A&M, Cooper was twice named NFC defensive player of the week \u2014 not rookie of the week, mind you, but the best defensive player in the conference that week, period \u2014 last season, first for his performances in the Packers\u2019 Week 8 win in Jacksonville (in which he forced a Trevor Lawrence fumble on a strip\/sack and also ran stride-for-stride with Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk to break up a downfield pass down the seam), then for his all-over-the-field game in Week 15 win at Seattle (a sack, an interception, five tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass break-ups).<\/p>\n
Now, in between, Cooper missed three games with a hamstring injury, and he also made his share of rookie mistakes. But by season\u2019s end, he\u2019d registered 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hits, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.<\/p>\n
And the Packers think he\u2019s capable of much more. Especially McKinney.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a hell of a first year, and he’s just going to keep building,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cObviously, he’s got the guys around him to be able to help him to continue to keep improving. And he knows how talented he is. So we\u2019ve just got to keep pushing him, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for the most part, he’s self-motivated. We already know what he’s capable of and what he wants to do, and even just coming in [this offseason], he got bigger. You could tell that he’s serious about what he wants to do, and he’s being very intentional about it as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I expect more from him. We all do. And I know he expects that for himself as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafley\u2019s biggest expectation is that Cooper will play with greater \u201cconsistency\u201d in Year 2. Although Cooper\u2019s athleticism \u2014 his 9.13 relative athletic score coming out of college was considered \u201celite\u201d \u2014 allowed him to make up for assignment or alignment mistakes, Hafley would like to see him reduce those errors and combine his talent with a better understanding of the system and his role in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sometimes joked about how he might’ve had [one] gap, but he made the play over there [in another gap], right? Like, there was a toss run over there that, instead of going over the top of the blocker, somehow he ran underneath the blocker and still made a TFL,\u201d a smiling Hafley recalled. \u201cNow, it’s getting the details down. Now, it’s lining up exactly where he needs to line up and doing it over and over and over again. Because then, he’s going to show up faster and he’s going to make more plays and he’s going to become a more consistent player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, he’s locked in and he’s focused now. He knows what he’s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For his part, the 23-year-old Cooper understands he has work to do. He altered his diet and workout program not only to add muscular weight to his frame but also with the intent of staying healthy and not missing practices and games like he did last year.<\/p>\n
To that end, he spent a portion of his free offseason time in Green Bay so he could work with the nutrition staff and strength and conditioning staff, hoping to add both strength and flexibility.<\/p>\n
Combined with a greater understanding of Hafley\u2019s scheme, Cooper believes he\u2019s ready for more. Much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy where I\u2019m at,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cI just wanted to feel powerful. I felt like the explosiveness was there, but there\u2019s no problem being a little bit bigger as long as you can move the same. That\u2019s how I felt about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI even met with some coaches in our offseason and was asking questions about plays and just trying to get ahead of my season. You try to have a perfect game, but also as a rookie \u2014 I don’t like using that excuse for myself \u2014 things can be tough for you. You think a lot, your alignment can be wrong, just little stuff like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, [I\u2019m] just making sure I\u2019m in the right spot at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n
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