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The Green Bay Packers’ linebacker room is a little light right now, as the team only has seven bodies on its 91-man roster for a position that is expected to have five players make the 53-man roster. Next up in our roster preview, we’re going to take a look at every single off-ball linebacker on the team, describing where the players currently stand on the depth chart and what they are expected to contribute to the Packers in 2026.
If you want to read any of our previous installments, here are our breakdowns of Green Bay’s other position rooms:
The Packers will have a new starting Mike linebacker this year after the team lost Quay Walker in free agency to the Las Vegas Raiders (who they should receive a 2027 fifth-round compensatory draft pick for). Before the draft, Green Bay traded away defensive lineman Colby Wooden, who was on an expiring contract, to the Indianapolis Colts for Zaire Franklin. Since bringing in Franklin, whom the Packers have stated they’ve been trying to trade for since before he was a starter in Indianapolis, Green Bay has adjusted his contract and has essentially given him an extra $2 million out of the kindness of their heart.
At 30 years old, Franklin’s legs aren’t what they used to be, but he should fit the Packers’ new quarters-based scheme much better, as he’ll be able to pass off deeper routes to split safeties. As far as credentials go, Franklin was named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro in 2024 after leading the NFL in combined tackles in 2024.
Franklin has previous experience with new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who coached in Indianapolis in Franklin’s first three years in the NFL (2018-2020). So far, Franklin has been the Mike and green dot player on defense in practices this spring and summer.
With Franklin taking over as the Mike, Edgerrin Cooper will remain in the Will linebacker role. Cooper was more productive on a per-start basis in 2024 than in 2025, in part because the Packers weren’t as exotic with their blitzes and stunts once they acquired pass-rusher Micah Parsons. Opposing offenses frequently tried to run the ball or call quick game passes in 2025, to avoid Parsons’ pass-rushing threat, which really neutralized the purpose of sending Cooper on blitzes.
What will be interesting to monitor with Cooper in 2026 is his actual on-field percentage. Gannon changes which packages he leans into on a year-to-year basis, but at the end of his run in Arizona, he did play a significant amount of Dime (one-linebacker, six-defensive back sets) and Penny (essentially a 3-4 front where an inside linebacker goes off the field for a slot defender). In either of those looks, the green dot linebacker (Franklin, at this point in time) would remain on the field while the Will linebacker (in this case Cooper) would be...
