Eagles want an extra look at rising draft prospect who could change Cooper DeJean’s role next season
The Eagles know they need to add talent to their secondary. One rising prospect has caught their eye, and they want to talk to him even more ahead of this year’s NFL Draft.
The Philadelphia Eagles are going through plenty of roster transitions for their defense. The 2026 NFL Draft feels like a key opportunity to improve their pass rush and back end for Vic Fangio.
Eagles visiting with Arizona defensive back Treydan Stukes
According to Ian Rapoport, Arizona Wildcats defensive back trey dan Stukes has a visit with the Eagles this week. He’s a versatile defender who can fill multiple roles at the NFL level. He’s been a fast riser in mock drafts.
Stukes was not a common name discussed for day two of this year’s draft even a couple of months ago. Since then, his stock has rocketed up due to his positional versatility, ball skills, and coverage ability at multiple levels of the field.
This meeting is really interesting when you consider his main home could be in the slot at the pro level. Cooper DeJean dominated in the nickel last year for Philadelphia, and there’s plenty of belief that he should remain there going forward.
Cooper DeJean’s role going forward
Adding Stukes could give the Eagles defense a bit more of an ability to move DeJean around and even play outside when necessary. The acquisition would also be great injury insurance for multiple players in the secondary.
“Stukes has the size, length, and traits to be a set and forget nickel corner at the NFL level. His fluidity and ball skills offer a solid floor production-wise. Even though there are concerns about tackling and the run game, the skills would make him a dark-horse day-one surprise if it weren’t for the injury and position limitations. At 24 and still under the full two years of recovery time, Stukes just doesn’t have the high end ceiling you would like in a first or second round corner.” – JT Runkhe
Replacing Reed Blankenship
Philly has plenty of faith in young safety Andrew Mukuba. The staff has doubled down on that. A
lthough, the loss of Blankenship has certainly created a roster hole at safety. Stukes is a player that the Eagles may see as more of a safety type who could step in as a rookie to help offset the loss of Blankenship. If that is the case, then DeJean would most likely play a similar role to what he did in 2025.
Regardless, the Birds are keeping Stukes on their radar for day two of the draft for a reason.
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