Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean has been a pleasant surprise over the last two seasons as he's gone from a second-round pick to an All-Pro quickly.
DeJean enters Year 3 with the spotlight on him and Quinyon Mitchell in the secondary as the best duo in the NFL, but his role might be a bit different in 2026. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio stated in his press conference last month that DeJean was going to be playing safety in base defense, which is perfectly fine with the young corner.
"I'm excited. I'm excited," DeJean said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "Obviously, I did it a little bit last year during training camp. I've been around it and feel like I've gotten to learn all the roles in this defense pretty well. So, yeah, I'm excited. It's a good challenge for me, just trying to perfect that position now rather than going back and forth from safety to corner to nickel last year. Kind of sticking to that safety and nickel spot now. That's been fun."
Cooper DeJean is looking forward to playing safety in Eagles' defense
Early on in his career, DeJean has already put up some big numbers with 144 tackles, 22 pass deflections, seven tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, two quarterback hits, and a half sack in 32 games. He was in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, and last year he was voted into the Pro Bowl and named an All-Pro alongside Mitchell.
One thing about DeJean that has made him so good in the secondary for the Eagles is that he's the best tackler at corner and safety. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty and lay the hammer on an offensive player, no matter the size.
His versatility in playing in the box and dropping back into coverage also separates him from the others. The safety position is already a massive concern with Andrew Mukuba and Marcus Epps as the projected starters, so DeJean is going to be needed in that secondary to do more than one job.
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Eagles fans won't have any concerns about DeJean, as he will be able to step up when needed, get the job done, and do it right. This is just another step in the evolution of a guy who is a borderline star in this league.
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