Philadelphia Eagles veteran Avonte Maddox could be out of a starting job following the team's early bye week.
Birds insider, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice, is projecting the team will replace him with rookie Cooper DeJean as soon as Week 6's matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
"I think we'll get to see Cooper DeJean starting in the slot soon enough," Kempski writes. "He's a little behind because he missed roughly the first month of training camp, but the Eagles can't continue to put Avonte Maddox out there in a prominent role. So we'll see how DeJean looks, maybe as early as their next game Week 6 against the Browns."
Maddox has been far from reliable or consistent at nickel, giving up 10 catches on 19 targets for a total of 115 yards through the Eagles' first four games of the season.
And the Eagles, who are 2-2 entering Week 6, can't afford any more mistakes from a seven-year veteran.
Additionally, the Eagles didn't trade up in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft only to have DeJean play limited snaps in Year 1.
Just before the bye, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio tried to say he was pleased with Maddox's performance after hinting that DeJean was getting closer to seeing more action.
“Cooper is closing in on being ready where we just, at some point, we’ll put him out there,” Fangio said. “But Avonte has played fine in some areas and obviously he’s had some plays that he’d like to have back. Like all of us, including me. But yeah, [DeJean is] getting better.”
The Eagles return to the practice field on Wednesday to prepare for Cleveland where, hopefully, we hear reports that DeJean has taken over Maddox's first-team reps in the slot.
