Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers offense has been getting the headlines all season because it has been a roller-coaster affair. When Love looks good, the Packers are extremely explosive on offense with perhaps the best young core of weapons in the league. When he looks bad, though? Well, the Packers have had moments like this one to contend with.
It's fun to talk about offense, especially in 2024. Meanwhile, though, the Packers have quickly and somewhat quietly turned around their defense from 2023 to now. Gone is Joe Barry and his soft as wet toilet paper schemes, and in came Jeff Hafley, who left a head coaching job at Boston College to become Matt LaFleur's defensive coordinator.
The Packers are much more aggressive defensively and they've got a nose for the football. In fact, even coming off a bye week that saw them watching Week 10 from the couch, the Packers are still tied for second in the NFL with 19 turnovers.
This is a unit that is much improved if not straight-up underrated compared to units like the Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.
As a fun exercise and as a way to prepare for the Packers second half of the 2024 season, let's rank the top three players on Green Bay's defense so far.
3. Isaiah McDuffie has been more than solid
Let's give Isaiah McDuffie plenty of credit. He came into the 2024 season seen as mostly a depth piece for Green Bay's defense. He's been a Packer since 2021 when Green Bay selected him in the sixth round, and he's always been a solid special teamer and decent depth linebacker in a pinch.
The Packers have relied on him more and more this season with injuries to Quay Walker as well as young linebackers like Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hooper trying to get their footing, and McDuffie has at the very least been solid. He may not be a starter on a stacked Super Bowl defense, but he's punched above his weight for the Packers so far in 2024.
McDuffie is second on the team in tackles with 55 and he has two passes defended, half a sack and a tackle for loss.
Again, he's no superstar, but solid linebackers are worth their weight in gold in a 4-3 scheme.
2. Edgerrin Cooper looks special
Cooper was mentioned in McDuffie's column as a young linebacker who is trying to find his footing, but the more and more he plays and the more and more he finds it, the better he looks.
The Packers selected Cooper with the 45th pick in this past draft out of Texas A&M, and he's already looking like the future of their linebacker position.
He's extremely athletic, a tough tackler, and he has a knack for quickly reading a play and simply flowing to the ball. Compared to Walker, who is tremendously athletic but reacts slow to flow, Cooper has been a breath of fresh air for the Packers on defense.
He's already fourth on the team in tackles with 44 and he's notched 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and recovery, five tackles for loss and two passes defended. These numbers are while the Packers have been slow-playing his playing time.
Cooper has shown he has the potential to be a special player, so the Packers need to let him loose in the second half of 2024.
1. Xavier McKinney has been a star as advertised
The Packers gave Xavier McKinney a four-year, $67 million contract this past offseason to be the anchor of their defense. He has flashed superstar potential while with the New York Giants, and he's fully realizing that potential in Hafley's scheme.
McKinney has six interceptions to his name so far and he boasted a streak of five straight games with a pick.
He's essentially closed off the deep middle of Green Bay's defense and has made it easier for young defensive backs like Evan Williams and Javon Bullard to get comfortable in the NFL — allowing them to focus on just making plays.
Even just a few more big plays this season will put McKinney in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation, and he's good for at least one or two game-changing plays a contest.
That's one of the reasons Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst wanted to bring him in this offseason.
“He prepares extremely well, takes it very serious, keeps his body in great shape. He's a pro's pro. Interceptions can be streaky. That's kind of one of those things but I do think he's a guy – he always has been a guy – that if the opportunity presented itself, he had the ability to take the ball away,” Gutekunst said during the bye week, per the team website.
McKinney continues to be a difference-maker for Green Bay.
Follow Us
Subscribe
