How close is rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean to seeing meaningful snaps in an NFL game?
Not close enough, in the eyes of Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
DeJean was essentially a healthy scratch yet again, logging one defensive snap in the Eagles’ 22-21 loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star sat behind starting nickelback Avonte Maddox, and logged his lone snap in the fourth quarter after Maddox exited the game briefly following a collision with teammate Quinyon Mitchell.
The Eagles traded up with the Washington Commanders to select DeJean No. 40 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. His first pro training camp was slowed by an offseason hamstring injury, and he’s been playing catch-up ever since, as Fangio has noted. He logged six defensive snaps in Philly’s Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
“He's getting close,” head coach Nick Sirianni said prior to facing the Falcons. “We'll see how the game plays out this week, but he's stringing together some nice practices in a row."
DeJean’s one snap Monday was more than teammate Isaiah Rodgers, who was active after missing Week 1 with a hand injury but didn’t see the field. Darius Slay and Mitchell, the Eagles’ first-round pick this past April, started and played all 61 defensive snaps as the outside cornerbacks, per PFF:
Eagles Week 2 defensive snap counts
- Darius Slay, CB — 61
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S — 61
- Reed Blankenship, S — 61
- Quinyon Mitchell, CB — 61
- Zack Baun, LB — 60
- Nakobe Dean, LB — 60
- Avonte Maddox, NB — 55
- Jalen Carter, DT — 46
- Josh Sweat, EDGE — 40
- Bryce Huff, EDGE — 32
- Jordan Davis, DT — 29
- Brandon Graham, EDGE — 28
- Milton Williams, DT — 25
- Nolan Smith, EDGE — 23
- Moro Ojomo, DT — 17
- Thomas Booker IV, DT — 9
- Kelee Ringo, CB — 2
- Cooper DeJean, CB — 1
Booker IV flashed in his limited reps, making a pair of tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Eagles' pass rush was nonexistent. As reflected by their snap counts, Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith are giving the coaches no reason to keep them on the field.
Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean locked down the inside linebacker spots for the second straight week, with veteran Devin White inactive as a healthy scratch.
As for the offense, it was a rough day for the passing game without No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown:
Eagles Week 2 offensive snap counts
- Cam Jurgens, C — 72
- Lane Johnson, RT — 72
- Mekhi Becton, RG — 72
- Jalen Hurts, QB — 72
- Landon Dickerson, LG — 72
- DeVonta Smith, WR — 72
- Jordan Mailata, LT — 72
- Dallas Goedert, TE — 70
- Saquon Barkley, RB — 65
- Jahan Dotson, WR — 57
- Grant Calcaterra, TE — 28
- Britain Covey, WR — 24
- Johnny Wilson, WR — 19
- Parris Campbell, WR — 15
- Kenneth Gainwell, RB — 7
- E.J. Jenkins, TE — 2
- Fred Johnson, OT — 1
The Eagles’ offense was carried through the air by DeVonta Smith —who never left the field and caught seven passes for 76 yards and a score — and on the ground by quarterback Jalen Hurts and RB Saquon Barkley. Hurts had his best rushing performance in 26 games (including playoffs), carrying the ball 13 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. Barkley added 116 all-purpose yards, but his critical drop on third down late in the fourth quarter set the stage for Kirk Cousins’ late-game heroics.
As expected, Jahan Dotson saw an uptick in opportunities. But he was once again a non-factor, hauling in his lone target for 6 yards. Hurts did look Britain Covey’s way often, as the shifty third-year wide receiver caught six passes for 23 yards on just 24 snaps.
With Brown expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, the team will need more from the trio of Dotson, rookie Johnny Wilson and practice squad call-up Parris Campbell with a scorching-hot New Orleans Saints team up next on the road.
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