For the past two seasons, the Green Bay Packers have relied on the versatility of off-ball linebackers Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper.
However, knowing that Walker’s free agent price tag would be too costly, the Packers decided to trade for Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. A 2024 second-team All-Pro, Franklin is coming off his worst season as a pro from a Pro Football Focus grade standpoint. Franklin struggled especially in coverage, posting a PFF coverage grade of 29.9, which ranked 32nd out of the 32 linebackers who dropped into coverage at least 500 times last season.
Cooper ranked second on that list, while Walker was 28th.
Even though dropping into coverage has never been much of a strength for Franklin in his eight NFL seasons, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst still expects him to be able to be used interchangeably with Cooper.
“No, they’re both going to be responsible for that,” Gutekunst said when asked if Cooper would assume most of the coverage responsibilities. “Edge is such a unique player. He’s so versatile with his ability to play off the ball in the run game, to cover, to rush the passer; he’s really a complete linebacker, as is Zaire.”
Under former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, the Packers lined up in either their base or nickel defense on 97.6 percent of their plays in 2025 — almost never coming out in dime, according to data from Cody Alexander of MatchQuarters. Clearly, Hafley liked the idea of deploying both of his athletic linebackers as much as possible.
With Hafley exiting Green Bay after two seasons to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Matt LaFleur hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon to lead the defense.
Hafley’s propensity to keep at least two linebackers on the field aligns with what Gannon ran during his three years in Arizona.
So, if you thought you might see less of Franklin on obvious passing downs next season, think again. It won’t be anything new for Franklin, who has logged at least 575 coverage snaps in each of his last four seasons with the Colts. During that stretch, he allowed 249 catches on 312 targets for an allowed reception percentage of 79.8 percent, while also surrendering 2,582 receiving yards for 10.4 yards per reception.
Walker may not have excelled in coverage during his four seasons with the Packers, but he wasn’t quite as bad as Franklin. Together, his and Cooper’s skillsets complemented each other well and helped them anchor the middle of Hafley’s defense. Now, Cooper and Franklin are tasked with building similar chemistry in their first year playing alongside each other and in a new defensive scheme.
“Obviously, Quay and Edge had a nice working relationship,” Gutekunst said. “It’ll be interesting to see how that evolves under Jonathan’s new defense.”
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Despite struggles, don’t expect Packers LB Zaire Franklin to come off the field on passing downs
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