It was just a handful of snaps in an indoor practice in May. So maybe don’t get too carried away just yet.
But it could be a sign of things to come.
As Cooper DeJean enters his second NFL season in 2025, the Eagles are at least toying with the idea of playing him as an outside corner in addition to his role as a nickel cornerback.
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“I’ll play wherever, to be honest,” DeJean said on Wednesday. “Wherever they put me on the football field, I’ll play there. As long as I’m out there, I’ll be ready to play no matter the position, whether it’s corner, nickel or safety.”
The Eagles kicked off their voluntary OTA practices this week on Tuesday but Wednesday was the first time reporters got a glimpse of the team. And while most of DeJean’s snaps still came on the inside in the nickel package with five defensive backs on the field, he did bounce outside when the Eagles went to their base defense with four DBs.
Why would the Eagles think about this move?
The answer is simple. DeJean was a really good player in 2024 and putting this on his plate wouldn’t remove him from the nickel spot but it would keep him on the field at all times for the Eagles in 2025.
NFL
“They’re a little different,” DeJean said on Wednesday. “I did it a little bit in college, played both. But they’re different. On the inside, you have to prepare more to fit the run and be able to cover and do all those things. At corner, it’s more worrying about covering the top guy, top receiver, with a lot of space.
“I did a little bit in college. I’ve been doing it a little bit early on here in OTAs. I think just wherever they need me to be, that’s what I’ll do. Right now, I’ve been trying outside and inside. But it’s definitely a tall task, no doubt.”
DeJean, 22, said he was told by veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio that the Eagles were going to try him outside in the base package in the spring — “nothing too crazy,” DeJean said.
And apparently, DeJean hasn’t looked out of place.
“Coop, he a football player,” Quinyon Mitchell said. “He did it in college. Just a great football player. Got a knack for the football. Just a football player.”
As a rookie, DeJean didn’t take over for veteran Avonte Maddox until the Eagles came back from their Week 5 bye but then he didn’t leave the field much. From Week 6 through Week 17 (before the regular season finale), DeJean played 84.4% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.
And most of his snaps were at the nickel (or slot) position. Here’s a breakdown of DeJean’s snaps from ProFootballFocus from the regular and postseason:
Slot: 773
Box: 76
D-line: 22
Wide corner: 8
Deep safety: 1
It’s worth noting that while we’re still calling the Eagles’ defense with four defensive backs their “base” defense, they tend to live in their nickel and they especially did in 2024 after DeJean took over that position. But having DeJean play outside and inside would still presumably boost his percentage of defensive snaps.
And after Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers both left this offseason, the Eagles are basically asking themselves whether they’d rather have DeJean play 100% of their snaps vs. whoever wins the other outside job between Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson.
Even though many projected DeJean to be a nickel corner at the NFL level, he predominantly played outside while at Iowa before the Eagles took him in the second round. Here’s a look at DeJean’s snap breakdown in 2022 and 2023, via PFF:
Wide corner: 1,183
Box: 114
Slot: 163
D-line: 58
Deep safety: 1
If the Eagles go into the season with DeJean playing both positions, he’ll have to flip back and forth between the two on a snap-by-snap basis. And that presents certain challenges too.
“A little bit,” DeJean said. “Outside it’s a little different mentality than playing inside, understanding leverage and things like that. So it’s going to be a challenge. But I’m still learning, it’s early on. We’ll see what happens.”
It’s early on in OTAs but it’s also early on in DeJean’s NFL career. From a long-term perspective, it might behoove DeJean to move to outside cornerback to maximize his NFL earning potential. There’s no doubt about it: Outside corners get paid disproportionately higher than nickels.
Of the 20 highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, just two of them played over half of their snaps at the nickel position in 2024 — Marlon Humphrey and Deommodore Lenoir. The top seven highest-paid corners in the league are outside corners.
“I haven’t really thought that far down the line,” DeJean said. “I’ve just been trying to get better at the positions that they’ve put me in here, starting with the nickel position. Obviously, where I predominantly played last year. Just trying to grow in that position and continue to understand how that position works and be the best I can be there.
“Now I’m getting to play a little bit outside, trying to learn that position as well. But as far as down the line goes, I haven’t really thought a whole lot about that. It’s just been how I can impact this defense right now.”
