There are quite a few similarities between Packers’ second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper and current linebacker Quay Walker. Together, the two will form a dynamic and “interchangeable” duo in the middle of the defense.
“Probably their intensity and maybe their frame,” said Assistant Director of College Scouting Pat Moore on the similarities between Cooper and Walker. “Edgerrin’s probably not as thick right now as Quay was coming out but same type of speed and intensity. Obviously, you’re seeing them play the same type guys, same competition. Little bit different game but same type of physical traits and aggression, play style.”
Last season at Texas A&M, Cooper held pass catchers to under 10 yards per catch with two pass breakups. His greatest impact came closer to the line of scrimmage, where he totaled 27 pressures and had the 11th-best run-blocking grade from PFF among all linebackers.
Both Cooper and Walker have the athletic abilities to be comfortable operating in space. Both players can flow sideline-to-sideline with to fill running lanes. And both players can be used as quarterback spies or blitzers to generate pressures.
On one hand, you could look at what Cooper and Walker each bring to the table from a skill-set standpoint and say that there is some redundancy there. However, you can also see the vision that GM Brian Gutekunst has for the linebacker position under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and it goes back to one word that continues to pop up this season: interchangeability.
“When you get big, long athletes that can run, they can play multiple spots,” added Moore. “I wasn’t passing that off. It’s just they’re both inside linebackers. They’re both Will linebackers. They’re both Sam linebackers. When you’re that big and athletic and can cover ground and can cover in the passing game, you can play multiple spots at the second level.
“They will be on the field at the same time as well as our other linebackers, too. I don’t know if that answers your question but they’re two 6-3 guys who can run and will be physical. That’s what you’re ideally looking for in Mike and Will or Mike and Sam, however you line them up.”
While much of the conversation this offseason has been around how the Packers’ defense will adjust switching from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3, and which linebacker will be the Mike, who will be the Sam, and who will be the Will, Gutekunst took the opposite approach, not wanting to pigeonhole a player into one specific role. Rather, he emphasized versatility.
For one, as Gutekunst has repeatedly pointed out, this is a nickel league. So even though the Packers’ “base” defense requires three linebackers, they’ll be in nickel for roughly 75 percent of their snaps each week, and that requires only two linebackers.
More importantly, when you have interchangeable defenders like Walker and Cooper who can wear different hats, it adds a layer of unpredictability to a defense, making it more challenging for an offense. It becomes much more difficult for opponents to get a beat on who is doing what on a given play when Cooper and Walker can both handle a variety of responsibilities.
“Well, first of all,” said Brian Gutekunst following Day 2 of the draft, “like we’ve talked about a lot, this is a 4-2-5 league. So I just think if those guys are interchangeable and they can do everything we’re asking those guys to do, it just gives you flexibility.
“I think if a player is limited in some form or fashion, then that can be a problem and to me, really, speed is the game. They gotta be able to run and I think the two guys we selected today — obviously you guys know Quay can run. We’ve gotten faster. Isaiah can run, so I really like that group and where we’re headed with that right now.”
As the NFL continues to be a more sideline-to-sideline game, with offenses trying to stress defenses horizontally by getting in space, having linebackers with that type of range and mobility is becoming a must.
For the Packers, that’s been a key factor in how they’ve constructed this room. Along with Hooper and Walker, Isaiah McDuffie has good speed and the Packers like the range that third-round pick Ty’ron Hopper brings to the table as well.
If defenses are able to control the middle of the field, moving the ball for the offense becomes so much more challenging with there being less space to operate in. An added wrinkle that the Packers now have to help further complicate things for opponents is the interchangeability at the linebacker position.
“I think those guys are interchangeable,” said Gutekunst. “Certainly there’s going to be some different responsibilities but what they’re going to be asked to do, I think all our linebackers are going to be interchangeable. I know they’ll call them MIKE, WILL and SAM, and they’ll have different responsibilities, but their skill sets will be the same if that makes any sense.”
