PHILADELPHIA — There isn’t a position in the secondary Cooper DeJean isn’t a natural at.
Slot cornerback, DeJean showed his rookie season he was one of the best in the league already. Outside cornerback, DeJean can play at a high level if the Eagles asked him to.
Safety? That’s the next challenge for DeJean as he heads into year two. The Eagles are adding more to DeJean’s plate as he’s been the first-team safety in base defense, an attempt to keep the standout cornerback on the field at all times.
“From Day 1, I’ve tried to learn all three positions, and I’ve played all three positions at this point,” DeJean said. “So if it comes to a point where they put me out there, I feel prepared to do that.”
Playing safety isn’t going to diminish DeJean’s duties as the slot cornerback. The Eagles do run a nickel defense the majority of the time, which puts DeJean in one of the most difficult responsibilities in the slot. DeJean was very good as the slot cornerback last season, the only defender in the NFL to allow zero touchdowns and 5.0 or fewer yards per attempt in coverage. He scored more touchdowns last season (1) than touchdowns allowed in coverage (0).
So why move a good slot cornerback like DeJean to safety? This allows Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to keep one of his best defensive players on the field at all times, not taking him out when the Eagles are out of the nickel or dime packages.
“Just like I thought, he can be a good safety,” Fangio said. “Just the other day we had a route that we struggled with last year in games to pick up and he did it like he’d been a safety his whole life. So yeah, he’ll be a good safety if we need him there.”
DeJean’s experience at safety
What makes the DeJean experiment at safety intriguing? DeJean has played just one snap in his college career as the deep safety (per PFF). He was primarily a college cornerback at Iowa, playing 163 snaps in the slot and 172 either in the box or on the defensive line combined in his junior or senior seasons with the Hawkeyes.
Essentially, DeJean was mostly a boundary cornerback or in the slot. If DeJean did play safety, he was seldom used there. The Eagles liked DeJean because of his position versatility, which Fangio wants to deploy more this season after mostly keeping him in the slot during his rookie campaign.
Playing safety is new for DeJean, or how the Eagles want to use him as a safety. Fangio prefers his safeties to read coverages, tackle well, and create turnovers. DeJean can do all three, which is why he’s growing into his role as the summer rolls on.
“I’m still learning how to play the position, all the techniques and responsibilities,” DeJean said. “But I’m definitely starting to feel more comfortable.”
What the Eagles can get from DeJean at safety
In short, more takeaway opportunities. The Eagles had 26 takeaways last season, good for sixth in the NFL. They had 13 interceptions, which was tied for 12th in the league — and C.J. Gardner-Johnson had six of them. Philadelphia traded Gardner-Johnson to Houston over the offseason, creating a positional battle between Sydney Brown, rookie Andrew Mukuba, and Tristan McCollum for the safety job opposite Reed Blankenship.
When DeJean plays safety, that fills a void for the Eagles in center field. Blankenship can either play back there and DeJean can go in the box or vice versa. DeJean’s coverage skills stand out at the position, which is where the Eagles can create more takeaways with an already young defense. DeJean stands out in the safety competition when the Eagles have him there, even if he’s not at the position full time.
Could DeJean be a full-time safety in 2025? That’s not in the cards, even with rookie fourth-round pick Mac McWilliams impressing in the slot. Perhaps down the line, which DeJean wouldn’t mind if that’s what the Eagles wanted.
“You got a lot more time to react back there,” DeJean said. “You can see a lot more. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it isn’t good. It might slow you down sometimes.
“I think just being back there and being able to see the whole field is what I like.”
