Expect big things from Packers rookie Edgerrin Cooper in 2024

It's tough to make an impact in the NFL as a rookie.

That's most true for quarterbacks, perhaps, but one of the most underrated tough positions for a young player to pick up is linebacker.

There's a ton to learn — from run fits to pass-rush responsibilities to coverages — and that's all while trying to maintain the athleticism and instinct that made you an NFL-level linebacker in the first place.

That's why the reports out of Green Bay about rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper this summer have been so impressive. Not only has Cooper, the No. 45 pick in this past draft, fit in so far — but he's apparently been already excelling.

"He's showing flashes, getting downhill, playing, flying around," fellow linebacker Quay Walker recently said of his rookie teammate. "I just tell him, 'Don't do no thinking, bro. Just fly around. If you mess up, it is what it is. You a rookie. Just take what you can learn … and go from there.'"

It's, of course, easier to make an impression in minicamp than it is in training camp — which the Packers are just weeks away from — and it's even harder than that to make an impact in the actual games once the hits are for real.

Half the battle as a young defender is playing fast, though, and it seems like Cooper has been able to play outside of his head so far. That's the good news.

"I feel like especially this last week, week and a half, I was able to actually relax in my head," Cooper had said during minicamp. "I'm starting to pick it up. So right now it's just, you know, playing ball. It feels good to where I don't have to think as much and just do what I do."

If what he picked up sticks during training camp and Cooper is able to continue to play fast, expect big things from him in 2024.