Edgerrin Cooper, LB Texas A&M: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Cooper was a four-star recruit from Covington High School in Covington, La. in the class of 2020
Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper is one of three or four linebackers competing for the position’s top selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Cooper has sideline-to-sideline range but lacks the power to thump with offensive linemen consistently.
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Edgerrin Cooper, LB Texas A&M: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt junior weakside linebacker from Covington, La.
Background: Cooper was a four-star recruit from Covington High School in Covington, La. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 162 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 173 for Rivals, and No. 162 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 287th in the nation with an 80 grade out of 100. Cooper originally committed to Oklahoma before flipping to Texas A&M. As a high school junior, he totaled 85 tackles, ten tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. Cooper also carried the ball on offense and returned some kicks and punts on special teams. He was born on Nov. 17, 2001.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed South Carolina game (2022), left before halftime vs. Tennessee and didn’t return (2023), didn’t participate in East-West Shrine Bowl because of injury
Awards: 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team, 2023 First Team All-SEC, 2023 First Team All-American
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, special teams ace, arm length surpasses NFL thresholds, room to add mass to his frame, change of direction, loose athlete, straight line speed, closing burst, burst and range to spy QBs, quick to recognize run lanes, reps with limited wasted movement, stays square and meets the RB in the hole, excellent lateral flow to the ball, sideline-to-sideline range, sniffs out screens, range to get to the sideline and impact WR screens, speed and agility to beat blockers in the open field, motor runs hot in pursuit, can wrap up or knock down ball carriers with power, athleticism and speed to match slot tight ends, speed to carry running backs vertically on wheel routes, bails from mugged up look with range to cover seam options, gains depth quickly in zone
Cons: Lean frame, high-hipped, lacks the power to play through the frame of offensive linemen, struggles to break clamps of offensive linemen, difficult stacking and shedding linemen that climb into his lap, bounced around and lost in a crowd, sits on tight end blocks, instances of being drawn downhill and opening off-tackle run lanes, overruns plays in pursuit, unable to track down Jayden Daniels a few times (2023), goes for arm tackles and slides off attempts, doesn’t get hands into passing lanes when hovering near LOS, limited awareness of routes and action behind him in zone, doesn’t have the bend to turn the corner as a pass rusher consistently, lacks pass rush plan
Overview: Cooper has more than 580 special teams snaps split across the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He ticked boxes at the NFL Combine, measuring in at 230 lbs. with 34-inch arms and an 80 1/4-inch wingspan. Cooper is lean and high-hipped, but he has room on his frame to add mass. The Texas A&M product isn’t a freak athlete, but he’s certainly above-average. He’s a loose athlete with impressive straight line speed and closing burst and good change of direction skills. Cooper has the athleticism to spy mobile quarterbacks, although LSU’s Jayden Daniels pulled away from him a few times in 2023. The All-SEC linebacker is quick to recognize and fit run lanes. There are a few plays where he steps down inside too soon and opens run lanes off-tackle. However, for every one of those bad reps, there are a few where he makes excellent plays with little to no wasted movement. Cooper stays square to meet the running back in the hole. He excels at flowing laterally to the football on outside runs. He is one of the few linebackers in this class with sideline-to-sideline range. The Louisiana native quickly recognizes screens and gets outside the hashes to make plays. He lacks the mass and power to play through the frames of offensive linemen and occasionally gets stuck on tight end blocks. Cooper struggles to break the offensive lineman’s clamp and is still developing his technique to stack and shed when bigger blockers reach the second level. He counters these larger bodies with his speed and agility, ducking or sprinting past blockers to make plays on the ball carrier. The four-star recruit’s motor runs hot in pursuit, but this sometimes leads to him overrunning plays and opening cutback lanes. Cooper switches between wrapping up ball carriers and knocking them down with power at the point of contact. His arm tackles sometimes fail and lead to him sliding off the tackle attempt. Cooper’s athleticism and speed make him a good match for slot tight ends in coverage. He’s also more than capable of carrying running backs vertically on wheel routes. There are examples of the redshirt junior bailing out of mugged up looks and showcasing his coverage range to quickly gain depth and protect the seam. Cooper gains good depth in his zone drops but shows limited awareness of routes developing behind him. He doesn’t get his hands into passing lanes frequently, partially because of his lack of awareness. Cooper’s burst off the edge makes him a good blitzer, but he doesn’t have the bend to turn the corner and lacks a pass rush plan.
Overall, Cooper’s athleticism helps him overcome his lack of power in the run game and gives him upside in man and zone coverage. He still needs to develop his awareness in zone and block stack and shed technique, but his ceiling and floor are among the highest of all linebackers in the 2024 class.
Role & Scheme Fit: Scheme versatile off-ball linebacker
Round Projection: Second Round
Size: 6'2", 230 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 02-29-24