Eagles identify possible draft-day steal to bolster cornerback depth

The Philadelphia Eagles lost quite a bit of depth at the cornerback position, seeing Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Isaiah Rodgers say farewell.

Though they did replenish the position a little with the signing of veteran cornerback Adoree Jackson, the Eagles are still on the weaker side when it comes to depth. Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, and Kelee Ringo headline the position group as the likely starters.

With the 2025 NFL Draft approaching, it seems likely that Philadelphia will look at adding to the defensive back room, especially in the middle-to-late rounds and in priority free agency.

Eagles meet with under-the-radar FCS cornerback ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

Enter Lacarea Pleasant-Johnson, a redshirt senior cornerback from Southern Utah University.

Pleasant-Johnson, the nephew of legendary NFL head coach Tony Dungy, has met with the Eagles, among various other teams.

The FCS product was voted the 'best' defensive back at the Tropical Bowl, an all-star bowl that most NFL teams send representatives to.

The standout cornerback had three interceptions in 2024, including one against Utah, and was recently ranked 10th on "The Draft Geek's Top-10 Small School Draft Prospects." Other players included on the list are Grey Zabel, Charles Grant, Marcus Yarns, and Jackson Slater, who are all projected Day 1 or 2 draft picks.

Pleasant-Johnson joined Southern Utah after spending three years with Utah and one with UNLV. His cousin, Eddie Pleasant, played for the Oregon Ducks and had three stints in the NFL with Houston, Arizona, and Green Bay.

He's listed at 6-foot-1, weighing in at 178 pounds. At his pro day, the Southern Utah alumnus ran a hand-timed 4.41 40-yard dash and drew comparisons to former NFL star Richard Sherman from FootballScout365.

Pleasant-Johnson projects to be a late-round steal or a priority free agent signing out of the draft, who the Eagles could look to lock up. He would get the chance to watch and develop behind other young players who have had early success in Mitchell and DeJean.