Eagles DC Vic Fangio hints at future plans for rookie Cooper DeJean
Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean has yet to see much action on defense through the first four weeks of the season, but that could be changing soon. Head coach Nick Sirianni had said ahead of the Eagles' Monday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons that DeJean is getting close to more snaps but […]
Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean has yet to see much action on defense through the first four weeks of the season, but that could be changing soon.
Head coach Nick Sirianni had said ahead of the Eagles' Monday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons that DeJean is getting close to more snaps but it's all about him feeling confident and ready for the moment.
“Just a feel of when it’s, like, okay, he’s ready to go,” Sirianni said. “He’s done a nice job. … There’s a lot of that goes into it that, right? It’s not just knowing what to do when you’re sitting here, it’s knowing what to do when the picture is changing. If they come out in this formation, that formation. There’s more to it than just say, ‘Hey, what do you do on this coverage?’ Boom. ‘What did the receiver do? What is the formation? What was the motion? Is there a shift?’ There’s so many things in there. So it’s so important that we’re all on the same page.
“He’s getting there. He’s getting close. We’ll see how this game plays out this week (against Atlanta). But he’s stringing together some nice practices in a row."
And on Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio hinted that DeJean is even closer to getting more opportunities and potentially starting.
“Cooper is closing in on being ready where we just, at some point, we’ll put him out there,” Fangio said. “But Avonte has played fine in some areas and obviously he’s had some plays that he’d like to have back. Like all of us, including me. But yeah, [DeJean is] getting better.”
The timing couldn't be more perfect considering Maddox has not been meeting expectations at nickel and the switch would make sense coming off a bye week.
Through OTAs and mandatory minicamps, the Eagles tested DeJean at cornerback, in the slot, and at safety, and according to multiple reports, the rookie looked solid everywhere he lined up.
Since then, however, the Eagles have limited him to just playing backup nickel.
With the Eagles 2-2 at Week 5, changes need to happen with DeJean replacing Maddox being one of them.
