Since the Jordan Love era in Green Bay started, the biggest story surrounding the Packers has been the team having the youngest offense in the NFL.
While Green Bay still does employ the youngest offense in the NFL at just over an average of 25 years old, it has been the young players on the other side of the ball who have really made the difference this season.
Over the past two seasons, Green Bay has moved on from veterans like Rasul Douglas, De’Vondre Campbell and Preston Smith to not only compile draft picks but to make room for young players like Lukas Van Ness, Keisean Nixon and Evan Williams to see more playing time.
One player in particular who has caught the eye of not only the Packers coaching staff, but also fans alike, is rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
In Green Bay’s 30-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Cooper filled the stat sheet, recording seven tackles (six solo and two of them for losses), one sack, two passes defended and one interception. With uncertainty surrounding Quay Walker, who left the game with an injury, it seems likely that Cooper will need to step up and possibly be the defensive signal caller as the team enters the home stretch.
“I think (defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley) does a great job of putting him in positions to have success, and it has been fun to watch and witness his growth,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, on Cooper. “He is a really good football player. I think he is just scratching the surface of what he can become in this league.”
While Cooper has certainly proven that he can be relied upon, one positional group is still up in the air – the defensive secondary. We know that Xavier McKinney is an All-Pro type of player, but beyond that, things are a lot less clear.
With Jaire Alexander still rehabbing from a PCL tear, the Packers have seen numerous defensive backs touch the field. With Eric Stokes’ inconsistent play and Williams and Javon Bullard’s lack of experience, Nixon has been relied upon to be the constant starter in the Packers’ secondary. This has yielded mixed results; since he moved to the outside, Nixon has forced turnovers but also got caught getting beat on man-to-man coverage.
If Alexander continues to miss time, Nixon and Carrington Valentine will need to be at the tops of their games for Green Bay to win games in the playoffs.
What may help the secondary is the play of the defensive line. Proven by the seven sacks against Seattle and the 40 total sacks this season, which ranks seventh in the NFL, the biggest strength for the Packers has been getting after the opposing team’s quarterback.
With Kingsley Enagbare, Van Ness, Rashan Gary, Brenton Cox, Devonte Wyatt, T.J. Slaton, Kenny Clark and Karl Brooks, the Packers are in a position to rotate players and keep bodies fresh, while still maintaining production. The ability to rotate those players in and out comes from the youth surrounding the pass rushing room.
Even more than the youth among the players, it is 45-year old Hafley who is in charge of putting the players in the best positions possible. Having youth surrounding the defense is obviously a positive because it theoretically sets Green Bay up with a strong base for years to come, but one has to wonder if the lack of experience can negatively affect the team come playoff time.
That point does not really matter though in the grand scheme of things, because the Packers are going to roll with the guys that it has. Having experience or not, the young guys, like last season, will once again have to be relied on to carry the defense to a deep playoff run. Even though the defense continues to play well, LaFleur knows that with a young team, there will always be opportunities to get better.
“That is kind of the mindset that we have – is just how we can get better,” said LaFleur. “I think that you just have to keep pushing that envelope and trying to strive to reach your full potential.”
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