GREEN BAY – The Packers concluded their mandatory minicamp with a third practice Thursday, the last full-squad workout of the offseason.
Here are five things learned as the veterans depart until training camp:
- LB Edgerrin Cooper's presence was felt out there.
To say the young linebacker is fired up about Year 3 would be an understatement, and he finished the offseason with a very active workout.
At the start of 11-on-11, Cooper slashed into the backfield and was all over a Josh Jacobs run. Then later in the two-minute drill, he jumped a short route by WR Isaiah Neyor and almost got the interception, soliciting a lot of noise from his defensive teammates anticipating a big play.
"I was real close," Cooper said of the potential turnover. "I remembered that stack (receiver formation) they had early on in practice, so I took a little risk. I jumped out of my coverage and tried to go get that one. I read it good, almost had it, so I was pretty close."
Cooper made that type of play at least once every day this week, a sign he could be a really key piece for new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Cooper showed that type of impact as a rookie, with 3½ sacks and 13 tackles for loss in what began as a part-time role.
Then last year as a full-time starter he finished second on the team in total tackles with 117, but the highlight-reel plays weren't as frequent (half sack, four TFLs).
This season he's aiming to put it all together.
"I don't want to be slept on no more or any of that," Cooper said. "I've been trying to grind, man. I'm trying to be the best at my position. Just do what I've got to do. I feel like it's time. It's been time."
- The defense got the better of it for the most part.
Maybe the defensive players were aware Head Coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday he felt the offense was ahead of the defense at this stage of the offseason, maybe they weren't.
But they sure made life difficult on the offense Thursday.
Early in 11-on-11 work, QB Jordan Love was forced into a couple of throwaways, and shortly after he had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and fumbled a snap.
The first-team offense started to find some rhythm with completions to TE Josh Whyle and WRs Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, but then nickel corner Javon Bullard deflected a quick throw over the middle intended for WR Jayden Reed that LB Zaire Franklin dove for and nearly intercepted.
"I like how our defense is playing together," Cooper said. "We've got some great guys, ready to attack the ball, playing hard, motor, running to the ball. That's how teams win."
- The two-minute drill was a mixed bag.
The most sustained stretch of offensive success for Love & Co. on the day came during the two-minute drill to end practice, as five straight completions (two each to Whyle and Golden, one to WR Christian Watson) moved the ball 49 yards.
After Cooper's breakup and another incompletion to Neyor, WR Bo Melton caught a third-down pass over the middle that looked to be enough for a first down in the red zone.
But the coaches wanted to try the field goal so they marked him short and sent out Trey Smack, but the rookie kicker's 35-yarder was blown wide left by the wind. Smack then moved back about 15 yards and made the re-kick.
Reserve QBs Kyle McCord and Kyron Drones also took cracks at a two-minute drive but both went four-and-out.
- This offseason required a lot of learning.
LaFleur talked about the offensive coaches going back to square one with the playbook and rebuilding it this spring, while the defense got its introduction to Gannon's system.
By this week, everything had been installed, making a wide range of play calls on both sides of the ball available in minicamp. That type of recall and processing served as a precursor to training camp, which begins in late July.
"It really tests these guys mentally," LaFleur said of the live calls that could come from any section of the playbooks. "But I think they've done a pretty good job handling it."
- The message for the break is to stay on top of things.
Next week is actually the last week of the offseason program, but the veterans will be reporting virtually for meetings and only the rookies will be working out in Green Bay.
The next month and a half will serve as everyone's chance to recharge, but nobody can go into shutdown mode.
"We've got a really solid foundation right now, but it doesn't matter unless you maximize these next 47 days," LaFleur said. "So the work they put in will show itself in training camp. The message is just they got to push it, man, and in every aspect, mentally, physically, you know, psychologically, every aspect is going to impact their game.
"But I think we got a really good group, guys that come in with the right mentality, the right attitude, and we'll be checking in on them quite a bit this summer to make sure everybody's still moving the same direction."
