Everyone seems to be focusing on Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell this year, since his role has changed to just covering number one receivers. Still, his fellow 2024 draft pick, corner Cooper DeJean, might be having a better season.
DeJean has been lights out at the nickel position and has put himself in the conversation for being one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Still, the Eagles have been going back and forth on whether to put him on the outside with the recent struggles of Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo or trade for another outside cornerback. It is a move that Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio admitted to struggling with the decision on DeJean.
"We considered it. But when you have one of the better players at a certain position, and it's an important position where you get involved more, you hate to take a really good player at one position to maybe not be as good of a player or impactful of a player at another position. But it's definitely something that we've talked about."
DeJean is having a monster season for the Eagles in 2025
One notable trait about DeJean this year, compared to last year, is that he has laid out some massive hits on receivers. There is more physicality to his game than what Eagles fans saw in his rookie season, where they only got a small taste of it.
In eight games, DeJean already has a career-high in tackles (52), tackles for loss (four), and is tied for pass deflections (six).Pro Football Focus has his overall grade for the year at 77.7, the fourth highest among 113 cornerbacks in the league.
DeJean has faced stiffer competition in coverage than he did last year. One example of this is what he did against Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson back in Week 7, in a red-zone situation, when DeJean broke up what seemed like an easy touchdown catch and didn't allow a touchdown.
Fangio praised the cornerback as he still can't believe the Eagles were able to get him in the second round of last year's draft.
"We got very lucky that he lasted till the middle of the second round. I think the reason he did is because he only played corner in college, at least his last year. I don't think everybody was sure [if he] was he a first-round corner, second-round corner, third-round corner. I don't think the league as a whole had a feel for his versatility because he didn't play it in college. He's really a damn good nickel. Probably one of the best nickels in the league, and we're playing him at corner in the base. He could play safety if we needed him to. He's a defensive back, but really, he's just a good football player."
Fangio on DeJean: "We got very lucky that he lasted till the middle of the second round. I think the reason he did is because he only played corner in college, at least his last year. I don't think everybody was sure [if he] was he a first-round corner, second-round corner,… https://t.co/clNuVrO4vY
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) October 28, 2025
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Eagles fans can't blame Fangio for wanting to keep DeJean there, but there is a point where the second-year cornerback might have to move to the outside. He's too good to stay in the nickel when he has already proven to be able to cover some of the best of the best in the NFL.