He did have some of that mixed in. During the Chicago game mid season both Edgerrin and Quay got abused. We seemed to use more 2 LB sets and Chicago actually abused us on the quick perimeter plays in the flat. We were fortunate to Win that game on a blocked FG.
So I agree as to your point Edg needs a little more consistency mixed in also and maybe Haf adjusting to that outside zone stuff could’ve been employed faster. Edg was seen running sideline to sideline a yard too late but his effort even in those plays was 100% he was just out of position to begin with.
Cooper sure looks the part though.
2 recent favorite draft selections were Kraft in RD3 and Cooper in RD2. I was hopping up and down both players (partly because they were popular players on our Draft contest) really should’ve been gone. Those guys should’ve went at the back of the previous round imo.
You're absolutely right by saying that there's no lack of effort on Cooper's part. All that's lacking is the ability to read an offense quick enough to get into position to make plays. This is essential to play inside because your range of coverage can vary so much depending on what is happening at the snap across from you and what your own defense has as intent.
In Cooper's case, he's slow to react to the outside because he's not seeing the plays well enough at this point to make the immediate adjustments and that leaves him 1/4 to 1/2 step behind where he's supposed to be and that often ends up the difference between making and not making a play.
Then there's the question of his speed. He's close to a 4.6. If he was .1 faster, it would make the job even easier because that translates into about half a step.
Can he develop? Yes, he can. We'll know a lot more as this season progresses. It could go either way at this point. Hopefully he can get his reaction times down and be more effective.
Kraft was a smart pick. In my opinion, he should have been drafted earlier. In fact, I think he's a better TE than Musgrave and was more draft ready than Musgrave. I think they let too much of the publicity surrounding Musgrave help them make that decision. It happens at times, but the Packers did the right thing drafting Kraft when they did. Over the years, I've gone from being skeptical about Gute's drafting to fully on board with the assessments being delivered by our scouts. They've made it a point to give the front office solid information to work with and that translates into good options for drafting.