Eagles’ gamble on Cooper DeJean is falling flat, and fans are starting to question if change is even possible.QQ
The Philadelphia Eagles have had some questions in the secondary this season, but one thing that is still clear is that the franchise hit two absolute home runs in the 2024 National Football League Draft.
Taking Quinyon Mitchell in the first round and following up with Cooper DeJean in the second round certainly turned some heads. Mitchell shined right away last year, but DeJean started slow due to injury. Once both were consistently playing, they both thrived. Both played well enough that they cracked the NFL’s annual list of the top 100 players in the league heading into 2025.
Mitchell has emerged as one of the top overall outside corners in football, and DeJean arguably is the best nickel corner in the game. But, the No. 2 outside spot opposite of Mitchell has given the team some fits, naturally leading to questions about whether DeJean should move out there. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Tuesday that the team has talked about it, but it’s not happening at this moment while giving the second-year corner nothing but praise.
“We considered it,” Fangio said in reference to moving DeJean full-time to the outside. “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 a player or impactful of a player at another position. It’s definitely something we’ve talked about.”
He’s not wrong. DeJean has a shot at being the best nickel corner in the entire NFL. Mitchell has been nothing short of brilliant on the outside as well. If you were to move DeJean to the outside full-time, there would at least be a question on how he would adjust. Plus, the Eagles would have to find a way to find someone to fill his current role as well as he already does. It’s a scenario that has more questions than answers.
