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The Green Bay Packers will be under a lot of pressure early in the 2026 season. Green Bay starters the season with games against Minnesota, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and New York. They’ll have to find a way to get those wins without Micah Parsons, who could still be rehabbing his ACL injury.
Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com answered some mailbag questions in a recent article. One of the more interesting questions he received was: which Packers player will have the most sacks or tackles for loss after four games? That four-game cutoff is alluding to the amount of time Parsons is expected to miss.
Hodkiewicz named one Packers linebacker as his dark horse prediction to answer the question.
“Lukas Van Ness and Devonte Wyatt are strong possibilities, but my dark horse prediction would be Edgerrin Cooper,” Hodkiewicz wrote. “I think Cooper will shine in this defense. It’s perfect for his skill set, especially with Zaire Franklin directing the defense.”
Cooper has shown the ability to generate big plays during his first two NFL seasons. He has logged 17 tackles for loss and four sacks split over his first two years.
Perhaps the biggest reason why Cooper could make more big plays is because of Green Bay’s new defensive scheme.
The Packers hired Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator back in January to replace Jeff Hafley. He will be transitioning Green Bay’s defense to a 3-4 front, which could create more opportunities for Cooper to make plays in the middle of the defense.
Even if it isn’t Cooper, somebody needs to step up early in the season while Parsons gets completely healthy. It could be one player or a group effort.
It will be fascinating to get a peak at Green Bay’s new defensive scheme during training camp this summer.
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