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Ty'Ron Hopper Is Making the Packers Forget About Losing Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin
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- Ty'Ron Hopper Is Making the Packers Forget About Losing Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin
Lambeau Field had plenty to cheer last Thursday night, and a lot of that noise was for a linebacker who spent most of 2025 on special teams. Ty'Ron Hopper intercepted Bryce Young, sacked him and broke up three passes in the Green Bay Packers' 27-19 win over Carolina .
That kind of night was supposed to come from Edgerrin Cooper. The 2024 second-round pick tore his Achilles in October against Tampa Bay, and Zaire Franklin has missed the last two games with a hairline shin fracture . Hopper, a third-round pick from that same draft class, played 151 defensive snaps in his first two seasons combined. He's at 211 already this year, according to SB Nation's Doug Farrar .
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Ty'Ron Hopper's coverage still has room to grow
Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper (59) is stiff-armed by Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers won the game, 27-19.
Tork Mason/Green Bay Press-Gazette
Hopper finished with eight tackles and two quarterback hits, and his second-quarter interception came when he tipped a third-down throw to himself at the line. Green Bay turned it into a Matthew Golden touchdown and a 20-10 halftime lead. He also became the first Packers defender since Charles Woodson in 2009 to post a sack, an interception and three passes defensed in one game, according to the team .
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Against Carolina, Hopper played 70 of the defense's 73 snaps and tied Lukas Van Ness for the team lead with five defensive stops, according to PFF. With him filling in for Cooper and Franklin, Green Bay has climbed to fourth in defensive DVOA through Week 8, according to SB Nation.
"We knew (Young) was a shorter guy, so they talked about getting your hands up throughout the week," Hopper said.
Head coach Matt LaFleur called it "a great performance" and said it was "something that we did see coming" during the preseason.
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PFF's grades are cooler on the night. Hopper's 90.1 pass-rush grade trailed only Brenton Cox Jr.'s 90.8 on the defense, but he posted a 51.6 coverage grade and a 43.6 overall, according to PFF.
He allowed nine catches on 10 targets for 70 yards, and PFF credited him with one pass breakup to the NFL's three passes defensed. Isaiah McDuffie, the other linebacker who played every snap, graded out at 72.7.
Franklin sat out Wednesday's practice , so his status for the Patriots game is still open, but Micah Parsons returned to practice the same day . Once both are back, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has a decision to make at linebacker. A month ago, losing Cooper looked like it would sink the middle of this defense. Hopper has played well enough that Gannon may have to find snaps for him even after Franklin is healthy, and tightening up in coverage would make that an easy call.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
