It’s become a weekly routine asking about Cooper DeJean and when his role will include some snaps on defense.
The Eagles were high enough on the Iowa defensive back to trade two premium picks to their NFC East rival Washington Commanders in April to jump up to No. 40 to select him. General manager Howie Roseman talked about how it’s not often you come away from a draft with a pair of players who they had first-round grades on.
The Eagles, of course, drafted cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd overall pick, and Mitchell has been everything the Eagles could have hoped he would be.
Mitchell is tied for second for the most forced incompletions in the NFL with eight, trailing only the Saints’ Paulson Adebo, who has nine, per Pro Football Focus. The Eagles’ rookie is also tied for fifth in the league with eight passes defended.
DeJean’s turn has yet to come. Sure, he missed three weeks to start training camp with a hamstring injury, but he has been on the field for more than a month since then and should be ready to go.
The Eagles have been working him at the slot position, where Avonte Maddox has been the starter since Week 1, and basically whenever he's been healthy since being drafted in 2018.
DeJean has played eight defensive snaps in four games with another 75 coming on special teams. He has taken over as the team’s punt returner with Britain Covey sidelined and on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
Maddox has four passes defended, which is second on the team behind Mitchell.
Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about DeJean and if he could take over in the slot when the Cleveland Browns visit on Sunday.
“Avonte’s done a good job, Avonte’s been a good player here for a long time and pleased with the things that he’s doing,” he said. “We’ll see how the reps go this week. Cooper’s obviously got more on his plate than he has in the past with the punt return duties and some of the things he’s doing on special teams.
“Again, pleased with how Avonte’s doing, but we’ll continue to work the reps for all the guys this week and see where we are at the end of this week.”
