Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and linebacker Evan Williams have been selected as center for Dane Brugler’s season A complete beginner team for The Athletic.
Cooper, a second-round draft pick out of Texas A&M, and Williams, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon, were the top players selected at their positions.
Among starting linebackers, Cooper ranks second in stops and first in pressures and sacks. Among rookies, Williams ranks first in PFF’s class – by a wide margin. Williams is also fourth in PFF’s grade among all safeties.
They were both quarterbacks. Cooper has 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble (leading to a touchdown), a fumble recovered (leading to a touchdown) and five tackles for loss. Williams intercepted a Hail Mary, broke up a pass to Matthew Stafford on fourth down in the fourth quarter, fumbled and scored a two-point conversion.
Brugler on Cooper: “Despite coming off the bench as a rotation player, Cooper has found ways to make his presence felt on both defense and special teams. His varied production accurately reflects how he can impact the game. He leads all starting linebackers with 44 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2 1/2 sacks and a pair of pass breakups.
Brugler on Williams: “A few weeks ago I expected this spot to go to Javon Bullard. However, the more Packers tape I watched, the more obvious it was that Williams was the more consistent and effective safety in Green Bay. He missed last week’s game against Detroit and his absence was obvious.
Before his hamstring injury, Williams established himself as a full-time starter alongside Xavier McKinney at free safety – with second-round pick Javon Bullard seeing more time on the field. His reliability in marking and counter-attacking – coupled with game-changing moves – is too good to stay off the pitch. Cooper still doesn’t play full-time, but has played at least 60 percent of the defense’s snaps in four straight games. Brugler believes Cooper has the talent to be the Packers’ best middle linebacker by season’s end, but he may already be there.
