The Green Bay Packers know what they have in second-year players Edgerrin Cooper and Evan Williams. At linebacker, Cooper quickly showed himself to be a stud, a menace in the pass rush. Williams, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon, was the team’s most effective safety after All-Pro first teamer Xavier McKinney. Sorry, Javon Bullard. E-Will got next.
Ball-knowers around the league know what the Packers have, too. In his recent article, “The 20 most important second-year defenders,” ESPN’s Ben Solak included both Green Bay sophomores.
Green Bay Packers pass rusher poised for another leap in 2025
Among linebackers last season, Pro Football Focus ranked Cooper 10th of 189 with a grade of 84. As a pass rusher he was even more dominant; his 90.1 PFF grade put him second overall.
While he didn’t pile up the sacks – Cooper came up with 3.5 – he bolstered the frontlines on passing situations. In absence of a top-tier edge rusher, he’ll do so again this season. In year two, it would not be surprising to see him get home more often.
Solak kicked off his evaluation with glowing praise for Cooper’s growth as a rookie.
“One of the best feelings in football is when you see the lightbulb go on for a rookie,” Solak writes. “It happened for Cooper, who went from a sub-package player to an impactful starter over the last month of the season.”
In particular, Cooper made major strides in run defense. Solak observes, “Across the last four weeks of the season, no off-ball linebacker had more run stops (tackles that are negative EPA for the offense) than Cooper.”
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Clear No. 2 safety by year two
Taken 53 places ahead of Williams in the draft, fellow rookie Javon Bullard earned the second-most snaps among Packers safeties last year, but the former outperformed him by an ample margin.
Whereas Bullard ranked in the bottom 18% by PFF grade, Williams finished 34th/171. He has work to do in the pass rush, but he’s clearly the better option, most notably in pass coverage. His snap count should reflect that in 2025 as the Packers focus Bullard’s reps at the slot.
“Williams was one of the breakout stars of the 2024 season,” says Solak, who praised his free-safety playmaking for allowing Bullard and McKinney to optimize their roles. Good as he is already, Williams only has room to grow:
“Williams needs to improve in man coverage to become a complete safety. But even if he doesn’t, he looks like a plus starter as a combo safety who can make big tackles. I don’t think he should leave the field in any packages this season at all — so long as he stays healthy, which was an issue last season.”
True, both he and Cooper missed games due to injury in 2024. The Packers need their young studs healthy for the defense to reach its full potential. But they should feel good about trusting those two to contribute. Cooper especially – “one of four rookie defenders to earn an All-Pro vote” – looks like a multi-year Pro Bowler.
For his part, Solak views Cooper’s excellence through injury as just another card in his favor, noting as well that the 45th overall pick didn’t even have a first-unit role to begin the season.
“If that doesn’t speak to his splash-play impact, I don’t know what does.”
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