Cooper DeJean landing on a top 10 list of the most versatile players in the NFL feels like validation for what Philadelphia Eagles fans have watched with their own eyes since his rookie season. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic put the list together, and what he wrote about the Eagles’ young cornerback should have every fan in this city fired up about the future of this defense. DeJean’s versatility, his awareness, and his ability to show up in the biggest moments make him one of the most exciting players on this roster, and honestly, I think he’s only scratching the surface.

Nguyen wrote that Eagles coaches speak about DeJean “with reverence” because the scope of what they ask him to do from a schematic and physical standpoint is not normal. He also noted that DeJean does everything except maybe man coverage at an elite level, and that he’s still very good playing man. Nguyen added that you simply can’t throw a screen in his direction and expect to get yards after the catch, and that his awareness in zone is where he really stands out.

DeJean’s man coverage is better than people think

Now, I have to push back a little on the idea that man coverage is some weakness for him. I think Cooper DeJean is good playing man coverage. Go back to last year when they tried to get him a little too far outside his comfort zone by putting him on the outside. Was he elite out there? No. Was he terrible? Not even close. The fact that people are nitpicking man coverage on a guy who does literally everything else at an elite level tells you how high the bar already is for him. That’s a good problem to have.

And look, go back to his rookie year. This guy helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl. He had maybe the biggest play of the entire game with a pick-six on his birthday in the Super Bowl. You want to talk about showing up in the bright lights, in the biggest moments, from a guy in his early 20s? That is rare, and it’s telling about his makeup and mentality.

The forgotten part of his rookie season

What really stands out to me about DeJean’s rookie journey is the part that doesn’t get talked about enough. He was hurt the entire training camp. He didn’t come back until Week 5, right around the time things really started to turn around for the Eagles. Everybody talks about the offensive scheme changes, getting back to fundamentals and running the ball. But DeJean being inserted into the lineup over Avonte Maddox might be one of the underlying keys of that season. His impact was immediate, and I don’t think that gets enough credit.

This guy has every weapon in his bag. Zone awareness, physicality against the run, ball skills, and the instincts to take away passing lanes before quarterbacks even realize they’re gone. Nguyen pointed out that DeJean knows how offenses are trying to stress coverages with their pass concepts, and that’s the kind of football IQ you can’t teach. He either has it or he doesn’t, and he absolutely has it.

The contract question can wait

There will be a discussion at some point about whether you pay him as an outside corner or an inside corner, and that conversation is coming sooner than people think. But we don’t need to worry about that yet. The Eagles have him under control, and the priority right now is simple: keep him on the field, keep him healthy, and let him keep being Coop.

He’s going to be a staple of this Eagles defense for a very long time. He has so much room to grow, he’s incredibly mature for his age, and the ceiling is genuinely scary. And you can’t talk about DeJean without mentioning what a job the front office did in that draft class, grabbing both Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Two franchise cornerstones on the defensive side of the ball in a single draft. That’s the kind of haul that changes a team’s trajectory for years.

DeJean is already a fan favorite in Philadelphia, and if he keeps developing the way I think he will, he’s going to be one of the faces of this defense for the next decade. Simple as that.