When the Green Bay Packers take the field this fall, their linebacker group will be one of the more interesting units on the roster. The team has a bona fide star on the roster, but aside from Edgerrin Cooper, the rest of the group provides far more questions than answers.
What does Zaire Franklin bring at this stage of his career, coming off his worst season as a pro? How much can the team get out of Isaiah McDuffie, a viable run-stuffer who remains a major liability in coverage? What exactly is Ty’Ron Hopper, the third-year pro who played just 59 defensive snaps last year before the team’s meaningless Week 18 game? What level of confidence does the team have in Nick Niemann or Kristian Welch to provide quality depth instead of just special teams snaps?
Cooper might be able to cover up a lot of those questions on his own. The young budding star just got named one of the NFL’s top ten linebackers by ESPN — and deservedly so — and the team sees him as a building block for the middle of the defense. Still, you have to play at least two linebackers on most defensive plays, so it’s important for Jonathan Gannon to figure out what to do next to him.
Let’s take a look at that group before we head into the weekend.
2026 NFL trade tiers: Players worth Round 1 picks by team | ESPNThis piece suggests that Cooper is among a quartet of Packers players who would draw at least one first-round pick in a trade at this point. Obviously Jordan Love and Micah Parsons are on that list, but so is Zach Tom. I’m surprised Xavier McKinney didn’t make the cut too, however.