Cooper DeJean is ready for A.J. Brown. The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback made that clear when asked about the upcoming joint practices with the New England Patriots, where the former teammates could square off for the first time since Brown’s trade out of Philly. DeJean wants the matchup, Brown should want it too, and honestly, every Eagles fan should be circling this one on the calendar. DeJean kept it simple when asked about a potential one-on-one battle with Brown:

“I would love to go against him,” DeJean said. “I know he’d love to go against us too, so it would be a fun battle.”

A.J. Brown needs to show up

Now, there have been whispers that the Patriots might limit Brown’s participation during the joint practices. That would be ridiculous. The entire point of these joint sessions is the buzz, the hype, the competitive fire that elevates both teams heading into the season. If Brown did all that talking over the last few months, got traded, raved about how New England is heaven, and acted like Philadelphia was some kind of prison sentence, then he needs to back it up. Simple as that.

Brown needs to come out and prove his worth. He needs to show up with that 1K mentality and torch the Eagles’ secondary, even if it’s just a practice in August. He has to back up the reason he wanted out. He has to justify the trade request, the going dark on teammates, the apparent falling out with Jalen Hurts, all of it. We need to see that from him on the field.

I think Brown will say the right things to the media. He’s not going to come out with any overt pettiness. But deep down, where’s that competitor? We wanted to see that fire at the end of the Eagles-Niners playoff game, and instead we got three drops. A lot of people were talking about Brown’s body and his injuries heading into the offseason. Well, if he wants to be the guy in New England, then come out and be the guy. Start proving it at that joint practice.

The friendship is still there

Look, Cooper DeJean and A.J. Brown are still going to be boys. Brown is probably still close with other guys on the roster too.

“Obviously he’s a great teammate, a great friend of mine,” DeJean said it himself a few months ago. “Nothing will change the way I feel about A.J. Obviously it’s a business, everybody has to do what’s best for them. I know whatever happens, he will always be a close friend of mine. I’m gonna miss seeing him in the building, just seeing him out on the practice field and talking trash. Those are fun times.”

That’s a classy response from Coop, and it shows the type of person he is. But friendship aside, when you line up across from each other, it’s competition. And I think for everybody’s benefit, the Eagles and the Patriots need to feature a Cooper DeJean versus A.J. Brown matchup. I want Coop to lock him up and start talking smack.

Brown’s ego affected the end of his tenure in Philly

And since we’re on the subject, we have to address the ego thing. Remember when Brown was still in Philly and was genuinely upset that DeJean got “Coop” chants from Eagles fans while he didn’t have his own? Brown literally went through a whole thinking process on camera about what his chant should be. He said he was thinking about how football season was approaching and he wanted to get the fans involved, wondering what they could say when he made a play or scored a touchdown. He floated “1K” because “Brown” didn’t sound right. He tried to get people to say “AO” at one point. The whole thing was absurd.

And then on his way out the door, he signed a wall at the facility and wrote “the greatest to ever play here.” Come on, man. The ego is off the charts. That is a wild, wild claim from a guy who had three drops in a playoff game and then demanded a trade.

Cooper DeJean doesn’t need a chant. He doesn’t need validation. He just goes out there, locks guys up, and lets his play do the talking. That’s the difference. And when these two line up across from each other at joint practices, I think Coop has a real opportunity to humble his former teammate a little bit. I’m not saying Brown isn’t talented. He’s one of the most gifted receivers in the league between the lines. But the act got old in Philadelphia, and now we get to see if DeJean can back up everything Eagles fans already believe about him. That August matchup cannot come soon enough.