Edgerrin Cooper ILB Texas A&M: Scouting Report

Height: 6’2

Weight: 227

Overall

Edgerrin Cooper is an undersized but twitchy inside linebacker in Texas A&M’s hybrid defense. In his 4 seasons with the Aggies, he played in 45 games, starting 21 of them. He had excellent production this past season and made a lot of big plays on film. He has areas of weakness that need to be developed but he has all the physical tools to grow into a reliable playmaker at the next level.

Pass Game

In the pass game, Cooper played primarily in zone coverage and he showed good awareness in keeping his eyes on the quarterback while reading underneath routes. He has quick feet when dropping to his zone and has the speed to cover a lot of ground when the ball is in the air. In man coverage he is fluid and has the speed and range to match up well against both running backs and tight ends. On blitzes he has elite burst through the line of scrimmage and the twitchiness off the edge to get around blocks and close the distance to the quarterback in a hurry.

Run Game

In the run game, Cooper is a run and chase linebacker who uses his speed to make tackles on the outside but struggles sifting through the trash on the inside. He is long but has a thin frame making it difficult for him to get off blocks and he is very inconsistent with his run reads and vision. He has excellent lateral quickness but takes too many bad steps when reacting to run plays causing him to leave his gap, and once offensive linemen get their hands on him he struggles getting back into the play. When he makes the right read and has space to hit the gap though he made big stops on film and his burst to the ball-carrier is unmatched. As a tackler he does a good job of wrapping up and driving his feet after contact when he is running downhill but in space he struggles staying square and got juked out multiple times when trying to make the tackle in the open field.

Last Word

Cooper projects best as an off-ball linebacker, likely on the weak side, where he can use his speed and burst to cover ground from hash to hash and be used on designed blitzes and in man coverage. He will likely need to gain weight to be used as a “Mike” linebacker and he needs to improve vision and  his ability to get off blocks before he can be a consistent playmaker on inside runs. His versatility in coverage and on blitzes will make him a dominant force on 3rd downs and his elite burst will make him an elite special teams player early in his career.

One-Liner: Edgerrin Cooper has the elite physical tools to grow into a dominant off-ball linebacker, but he needs to improve his vision and block shedding before he can reach his high ceiling. 

Grade: 6.6 (Lower End Starter on All 3 Downs)

Games Watched: 2023 - Miami, Auburn, Tennessee

Team Fits: Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders