Could Edgerrin Cooper be the player to save the Green Bay Packers pass rush?

The Texas A&M rookie is doing things not done since Micah Parsons. Could he follow Parsons' path and go from off-ball linebacker to pass rusher for Jeff Hafley?

When the 2021 Dallas Cowboys needed pressure on 3rd-and-long, they often turned to their ultra-athletic off-ball linebacker, lined him up on the edge, and let him fly off the corner to terrorize quarterbacks. Micah Parsons proved so good at rushing the passer, that the Cowboys moved him full-time to the edge where he’s now one of the most dominant players in the league when healthy. The Green Bay Packers have a rookie off-ball linebacker impacting the game in ways not seen since Parsons and the temptation may be to see if he can follow that same path.

Against the Minnesota Vikings, Edgerrin Cooper became the first rookie since Parsons to post 10 tackles and four tackles for loss in a game according to NFL Research. Cooper has barely played 50% of defensive snaps this season, yet he leads all rookies in TFLs. Jared Verse, the heavy favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and a true edge rusher, trails Cooper with 11 TFLs.

After an anemic performance from the Packers pass rush, that raises an interesting question: why not let Cooper, a player still learning how to play in coverage, be a designated pass-rusher on 3rd-and-must-pass?

“We are going to be able to, bit-by-bit as he grows, put him in some pretty fun positions,” Hafley said Thursday.

When asked if putting Cooper on the edge was a way to maximize his pass rush, a wry smile broke Hafley’s face.

“There’s a lot of things we can do to maximize his pass rush and I think we’re just scratching the surface. We did some fun things with him today that he looked pretty good at doing, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. We’ll have to wait until we see it on film one of these days but … you just gotta be careful with how much you give them early.”

Hafley warned it could be like a glass, filling it up too much: eventually it spills out. Overloading a rookie by trying to ask them to do too much can cause atrophy in other parts of their game. Hafley referenced Javon Bullard, who has learned both safety and the nickel corner spot in this defense and played neither at the level they believe he can play them, suggesting overload as a factor.