Packers add four players on the second night of the NFL Draft

April 26, 2024
|In Packers
|By Zach Heilprin

A night after addressing a need along the offensive line, the Green Bay Packers went about filling holes on the defensive side of the ball.

GM Brian Gutekunst grabbed Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper with pick No. 45, a selection the team got from New Orleans after trading back from No. 41. Then, with the second pick of the round, the team tapped its favorite college, Georgia, to add safety Javon Bullard with pick No. 58.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Cooper is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. With the Aggies he racked up 83 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 2023. An AP first-team All-American, Cooper could step into a significant role in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense, especially with De’Vondre Campbell now in San Francisco.

Bullard is just the latest addition from Athens, joining Walker, Devonte Wyatt and Eric Stokes as Bulldogs the Packers have taken in the first two rounds since 2021. A two-time national champion, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Bullard was a second-team All-SEC pick in 2023, after collecting 56 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups. He, like Cooper, could immediately find a place in the defense alongside free agent addition Xavier McKinney.

Green Bay flipped back to the offensive side for its first pick in the third round, selecting USC running back MarShawn Lloyd at No. 88. The 5-foot-9, 220-pound Lloyd, who ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the combine, spent his first three years at South Carolina before joining the Trojans last season. He thrived in Los Angeles, running for a career-best 821 yards (7.1 ypc) and nine touchdowns. He also had 232 yards receiving on just 13 catches.

With their final pick of the night, No. 91 overall, the Packers took Missouri linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper. A finalist for the Butkus Award (best linebacker), Hopper had 55 tackles, 6 TFLs and three sacks as a senior, earning second-team All-SEC honors.

As it stands, the Packers own eight pcks over the final four rounds that will get going late Saturday morning.