For Philadelphia Eagles fans, the long wait is over.
The team is reportedly preparing exciting rookie prospect Cooper DeJean to make his first career start in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
It’s been a long, windy road to reach this point. From cryptic comments about DeJean’s progress in practice from defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, to a midseason position change, it’s been unclear why the former Iowa Hawkeyes star has been held back in games while the defense has struggled against quarterbacks like Jordan Love, Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield.
As DeJean prepares to take over as the Eagles starting nickel corner, let’s revisit the odd timeline that delayed his first pro start until October.
April 26: Eagles draft DeJean No. 40 overall
DeJean was viewed by many as one of the best cornerbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was a staple in the first round of mock drafts, and the expectation was he would be among the top defensive players on Day 1. He wound up sliding to the top of the second round, where the Eagles snagged him No. 40 overall after trading up with the Washington Commanders.
One reason for the slide — other than no defensive players being drafted in the top 14 of the draft — was DeJean’s health during the pre-draft process. He was recovering from a broken leg he suffered playing for the Hawkeyes in November 2023, and that caused him to miss the NFL Combine.
DeJean was widely seen as a steal for the Eagles, who doubled down at the position with Quinyon Mitchell in Round 1.
July 24: DeJean placed on Non-Football Injury list
While working out back home in Iowa in anticipation for his first training camp, DeJean sustained a hamstring injury and was subsequently deactivated on the NFI list. For a player with an injury history in college, it was far from an ideal start to DeJean’s pro career.
He had been working at both cornerback and nickel during the spring, but the injury put DeJean’s practice time on hold for weeks (20 days to be exact) as he recovered. During the first weeks of training camp, Mitchell emerged as the frontrunner at nickel with Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers working on the outside.
August 13: DeJean logs first training camp practice
The Eagles activated DeJean off the NFI list on Aug. 13, in time for him to participate in a limited capacity during the team’s joint practice with the New England Patriots in Foxboro.
He was held out of that week’s preseason game, with the team planning to ramp him up for the following week’s preseason game at the Linc.
August 24: DeJean makes preseason debut
DeJean proved he was healthy enough to start Philly’s preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings. He logged 46 snaps on defense and returned a punt on special teams, but his overall showing was a mixed bag.
He had an illegal contact penalty on 3rd-and-11 that led to a Minnesota touchdown, but also stuffed this rush attempt in the backfield. PFF credited DeJean with a missed tackle and gave him a grade of 51.5 — lowest on a defense that featured a smattering of future backups, practice squad signings and roster casualties.
Cooper DeJean tackle for loss ‼️
— NFL (@NFL) August 24, 2024
📱: Stream #MINvsPHI on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ndiFVNaPzv
Sept. 6: DeJean sees backup role in Week 1
The Eagles traveled to Brazil for their season opener against the Green Bay Packers, and they entered that game without Rodgers, who was scratched late due to a hand injury. Since Rodgers had edged out Kelee Ringo as the presumed starter opposite Slay on the outside, DeJean appeared poised to get considerable run time either at corner or nickel.
But Fangio and the Eagles had a few curveballs up their sleeves. Mitchell moved outside from the nickel spot, where he had been for the majority of training camp, and veteran Avonte Maddox, who entered the season as a backup safety, got the start at nickel.
DeJean opened the season in the Eagles dime package (six defensive backs) and logged six total snaps in his pro debut.
Sept. 11: Fangio’s eye-opening comments on DeJean’s progress
Fangio has a reputation for being blunt with the media, and was just that during his session with the media coming out of the Packers game.
When asked about his decision to give Maddox 60 snaps compared to DeJean’s six in the opener, Fangio told reporters that missed practice reps in training camp were the primary reason.
“We just have to keep practicing him a bunch,” Fangio said, “get him comfortable.”
Sept. 16: DeJean’s role vanishes vs. Falcons
Days after Fangio implied that DeJean wasn’t yet comfortable in the defense, the rookie logged only one snap in the team’s brutal loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
One reason was a role change. DeJean warmed up behind Maddox as the backup nickel, and his lone snap on defense in the game came after Maddox exited briefly with an injury.
After the game, Fangio confirmed that DeJean had moved from dime to nickel, and would be focusing on learning that position moving forward.
“With all the time he’s lost,” Fangio said, “we’re going to focus him at nickel right now, and see if he can make good enough progress there.”
DeJean’s role behind Maddox remained the same into the bye week. He didn’t play a defensive snap in Week 3, and logged one snap during the team’s blowout loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4.
Oct. 9: DeJean poised to make first career start
Head coach Nick Sirianni and Fangio discussed personnel changes on defense during the bye week, with the Eagles ranked near the bottom of the league in yards allowed per play.
One of those changes, per NFL analyst Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, was inserting DeJean as the starting nickel corner over Maddox.
“That's a move I'm expecting, barring new developments,” Fowler wrote. “DeJean, a second-rounder with first-round talent, got off to a slow start due to a preseason injury but is considered all caught up with Vic Fangio's scheme. I'm told multiple defensive positions were up to discussions over the past week.”
Eagles fans have longed to hear it, but it appears two potential future franchise cornerstones — Mitchell and DeJean — could finally be on the field together in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
“He’s obviously been getting (practice) reps at slot,” Sirianni said of DeJean on Wednesday. “We’ll see how it goes this week. (Avonte Maddox has) done a good job. Avonte’s been a good player here for a long time, and I’m pleased with the things that he’s doing. So we’ll see how the reps go this week.”
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