The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects who could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Green Bay Packers may have struck gold when they drafted Edgerrin Cooper in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The former Texas A&M linebacker put together an impressive rookie season, despite only starting four games and missing three more due to injury, Cooper recorded 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception. He has future star written all over him.
With Cooper and Quay Walker, the Packers have the makings of a dynamic linebacker group.
The Packers could be losing fellow linebackers Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie to free agency, leaving the depth at the position depleted. With those potential departures, Ty’Ron Hopper could take on a more prominent role during his second year in the league.
Even if Hopper emerges, the Packers will need depth behind the young trio. A potential target in the 2025 NFL Draft is Jeffrey Bassa. The Oregon linebacker checks in at No. 70 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.
A four-star recruit, Bassa transitioned from safety to linebacker during his first season on campus. As a sophomore in 2022, Bassa started in nine games and recorded 62 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions.
In 2023, Bassa recorded 72 tackles, four tackles for loss and one interception. This past season the Utah native recorded 54 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
“Throughout his time with the Ducks, Jeffrey Bassa was the heart and the soul of the defense,” Zachary Neel, the Oregon Ducks beat reporter for Ducks Wire, said. “He took over in a leadership role early on in his tenure and was one of the mainstays during the transition from Mario Cristobal to Dan Lanning. From his play on the field to his leadership in the locker room, Bassa was arguably the most important player on Oregon’s defense over the last four years.”
A former safety, Bassa has excellent play range and is a smooth mover. He moves well laterally to make plays sideline-to-sideline. He’s instinctive and beats blockers to the spot to meet ball carriers in the gap. Bassa improved each year as a tackler and finishes well in the open field. According to Pro Football Focus, Bassa missed 26 tackles during his first two seasons and he cut that number down to 11 over the past two seasons.
“Bassa is a solid run defender, and he’s not afraid to get his nose in on the play,” Neel said. “While he has a smaller frame as a linebacker — 6-foot-1, 225 pounds — he makes up for that with the ability to move sideline to sideline with ease and make plays outside of the box.”
Bassa has patient feet in coverage and desirable movement skills. He has the quickness to hold up in man coverage against tight ends and running backs. The Oregon linebacker has the short-area burst to be an effective blitzer. Over the past two seasons, he recorded 38 pressures and 1.5 sacks.
“Despite being a former safety, Bassa probably isn’t as good in coverage as you would hope,” Neel said. “Bassa has worked hard on his pass coverage over the past few years and he’s greatly improved in that area, but I would say that run support is still the strength of his game.”
Bassa’s growth in coverage was on display during Senior Bowl week. He was one of the standouts at practice and was even named the top linebacker on the National squad for his performance throughout the week down in Mobile. Bassa even caught the eye of NFL Network’s draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. From Jeremiah:
“Bassa made a bunch of plays in practices this week, but his leadership stood out as much as anything else. I could hear him all the way up in the press box as he directed traffic on the field. He definitely has that alpha mentality at the linebacker position, which is going to help him during the evaluation process leading up to the draft.”
Bassa logged 441 special teams snaps during his collegiate career. With his quickness and toughness, Bassa could provide an immediate impact on special teams as a rookie.
“Bassa will likely make the biggest impact on special teams early in his career,” Neel said. “He would be a pretty small NFL linebacker, so he needs to prove that he can make plays at this level before getting a big role on the defense. With his skillset and ability to get guys down in space, though, I see Bassa finding success in special teams early on in his career.”
Fit with the Packers
In 2022, the Packers drafted Walker with the 22nd overall pick. Last year the Packers drafted Cooper in the second round and Hopper in the third round.
With those three on the roster and a year removed from using a pair of Top 100 picks on the position, it’s maybe a safe assumption that Gutekunst will wait until Day 3 before adding a linebacker or two to the mix.
Even after an impressive Senior Bowl week, Bassa will likely be a Day 3 pick. With his instincts, leadership, play range and special teams experience, Bassa could be high on Green Bay’s board as they search for depth at linebacker.
The Oregon linebacker would provide quality depth and potentially challenge for playing time on defense while providing an immediate impact on special teams.
“I’m drafting Bassa for what he does off the field just as much as what he does on the field,” Neel said. “We’ve seen throughout his career that Bassa is a talented defender and a willing tackler, but over the last couple of years, it’s been his leadership that made him stand apart. He was one of the biggest vocal leaders this year at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, and that will likely continue through the NFL Combine and pre-draft process. This is a culture guy who improves locker rooms.”
Before becoming the head coach at Oregon, Dan Lanning was the defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2019 to 2021. Gutekunst drafted three Georgia players (Eric Stokes, Devonte Wyatt and Walker) that Lanning oversaw during that stretch.
During the 2024 draft, Gutekunst drafted Evan Williams, a defensive back out of Oregon in the fourth round. Williams proved to be NFL-ready ready and Gutekunst could once again dip his toes back into the Lanning talent pool in the upcoming draft.
“At this point, NFL general managers are likely going to start looking at head coach Dan Lanning and trusting the players that come from his program,” Neel said. “There have been very few misses so far, with major hitters like Christian Gonzalez, Bo Nix, Bucky Irving, Evan Williams, and many more.”