There was a time when Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean's versatility was seen as a negative. Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, analysts questioned whether he could hold up at any one position in the league. Those doubts caused him to fall to the second round, where the Eagles gladly scooped him up.
It's safe to say that he's already proved his doubters wrong. In just two seasons, DeJean has become one of the best slot defenders in football.
Ted Nguyen of The Athletic put a stamp on DeJean's diverse skill set in a recent article. He listed the Eagles defender as one of the ten most versatile players in the NFL. After two dominant years, the rest of the league has learned what fans in Philly knew all along about the young cornerback.
Eagles' Cooper DeJean is one of the NFL's most versatile players
Nguyen heaped praise on DeJean, saying, "DeJean does everything, except maybe man coverage, at an elite level and he’s still very good playing man. If he’s not the top tackling defensive back in the league, he’s top three. You simply can’t throw a screen in his direction and expect to get yards after the catch."
There's truly nothing the young defender is bad at. He's capable of doing anything on defense, making him the perfect Swiss Army knife for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
DeJean's snap count is the perfect depiction of his versatility. In 2025, he played over 100 snaps each at strong safety, nickel cornerback, and wide cornerback. While he's used primarily as a nickel defender, he can be truly dominant anywhere in the secondary.
He's even a key contributor on special teams, playing over 100 snaps on kick coverage, kick return, and punt return in 2025. There's truly nothing that he can't do.
That versatility helped him earn First-Team All-Pro honors in 2025. His allowed reception rate of just 62% was elite among slot defenders. He even fit the run at an impressive level, logging almost 100 total tackles on the year.
As if he doesn't already do enough in Fangio's defense, DeJean has reportedly been getting snaps at safety in OTAs. If he adds yet another position to his resume, the Eagles defender will be the unquestioned most versatile player in football.
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The 23-year-old has already made the rest of the league look silly for passing on him in the draft, and he's just getting started.
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