Over the next few weeks leading up to training camp, we’ll be counting down the top 25 most important Eagles for the 2024 season.
25. Brandon Graham
24. Nakobe Dean
23. Milton Williams
22. Jake Elliott
21. Nolan Smith
20. Cooper DeJean
It was a little tough to figure out if and where DeJean belonged on this list. Because going into training camp, we don’t know what his role will be. Heck, we don’t even know what position he’s going to play.
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What we do know is that the No. 40 overall pick from Iowa has been impressing his coaches since being drafted. And they’re probably going to find a way to get him on the field.
“I think Coop is very versatile,” defensive backs coach Christian Parker said. “I think he plays with good vision to the ball. I think that he has good ball skills. I think we’re kind of in that process now. We’ve moved him around a little bit. He can handle it mentally. I think as we move on in this phase right now and get into training camp, he’ll have a home. But he’s playing corner, he’s playing nickel, he’s handling those things well. We’ll continue to put more things on his plate and see how he handles it.”
The most likely position to see DeJean, barring injury, is as a slot corner. He split his time at that nickel spot and at outside cornerback during the spring. And even though DeJean played more as an outside corner at Iowa, there’s a clearer path to playing time inside with the Eagles in 2024.
Could DeJean eventually play some safety? Maybe. But for now, the Eagles aren’t weighing him down with too many positions.
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“It’s been good,” DeJean said this spring. “I’m just trying to take in and learn as much as possible right now, whether that’s inside or outside. I don’t have a problem with having a lot on my plate. I’m here to play football and learn football. The more positions I can learn, I feel like it helps me out on the field when I’m at one of those positions. Just knowing what those other positions are doing and where I can get my help.
“I don’t have a problem with having a lot on my plate. I’m here to play football and learn football. The more positions I can learn, I feel like it helps me out on the field when I’m at one of those positions. Just knowing what those other positions are doing and where I can get my help.”
The Eagles thought DeJean would be in play when they were on the clock at No. 22 in the first round. So when he was still available into the late 30s, the Eagles got a little antsy. They wanted to move up and take him.
And in this video released by the team, you can see how excited they were to land DeJean.
While the No. 22 pick, Quinyon Mitchell, has a real chance to win the starting corner spot opposite Darius Slay, DeJean will push for playing time too. Even if he’s not the top nickel corner, he’s probably still going to be the sixth defensive back on the field in sub packages.
And he might even get a chance to return some punts or kicks.
So we don’t know exactly how DeJean is going to be used in 2024. But if he’s as good as the Eagles think he is, they’ll find a way to get him on the field.
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