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When it comes to the defensive MVPs of the Philadelphia Eagles' 2024 campaign, few players deserve the crown more than Cooper DeJean.
Beginning the season slowly after missing some time over the summer with an injury, DeJean moonlighted as a punt returner before going all-in on the slot cornerback spot, taking over for Avonte Maddox and never looking back. DeJean became a force against the run and in the passing game almost immediately, and parlayed that into a Super Bowl Pick-6, the defining play of his NFL career so far.
DeJean's on-field efforts have been so impressive that, in his best NFL luxury players column for ESPN, Bill Barnwell named No. 33 the best interior defensive back in the league.
“Yes, he's already there. DeJean spent the first month of his rookie season on the sideline, but after Philadelphia's Week 5 bye, his move into the starting lineup coincided with a massive defensive improvement. After ranking 26th in expected points added (EPA) per play on defense before the bye, the Eagles were comfortably the league's best defense by the same metric afterward — the second-place Texans ranked closer to 13th than they did to first,” Barnwell wrote.
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“It would probably be unrealistic to suggest DeJean was the single driver of those improvements, but he certainly served as a revelation in the secondary. From Week 6 onward, his minus-22.7 EPA allowed as the nearest defender in coverage ranked second in the league, with fellow rookie standout Nate Wiggins the only cornerback ahead of him, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He didn't allow a single touchdown on 68 targets. And while he didn't record any interceptions during the regular season, you might remember what he did to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.”
While the idea of DeJean remaining an inside-only player in 2025 may not come to pass, as the Eagles have been cross-training the second-year pro at outside cornerback too, in the end, Barnwell believes the Iowa product will remain effective all the same, as he's proven over the years he can be an effective weapon all over the field.
“With the Eagles releasing Darius Slay, DeJean will play outside more often in 2025, as he'll likely start outside in their base defense and work out of the slot in sub-packages,” Barnwell wrote. “He was in coverage as an outside cornerback on just six snaps last season, none of which came during the postseason. He moved all around the backfield in college at Iowa, which should help his chances of handling the added responsibilities. A dominant rookie season also bodes well for his chances of being a great NFL cornerback regardless of where he lines up pre-snap.”
One of the more challenging positions to pick up in the NFL, DeJean and his 2024 NFL Draft classmate Quinyon Mitchell hit the ground running as rookies and formed one of the best one-two cornerback punches in the NFL from Week 5 on. If DeJean can match his production in Year 2 on the outside and remain elite on the inside, it's safe to assume Vic Fangio's defense will remain among the best in the NFL this fall, too.
