One top cornerback wasn’t enough for Howie Roseman. So, a day after choosing Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick, the Eagles traded up 10 spots in the second round on Friday and selected Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean.
Like Mitchell, DeJean fell well below his projected draft grade. And just like in the 2002 draft, with Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, the Eagles drafted two young cornerbacks in the first two rounds that they hope can form a lasting tandem.
The Eagles traded their two second-round picks – No. 50 and No. 53 – to the Commanders as well as No. 161 in the fifth round in exchange for No. 40 and No. 78, which become their only third-round pick. , and No. 152 in the fifth round.
The Eagles had only drafted two cornerbacks in the first two rounds in the last 20 years: Eric Rowe in the second round of the 2015 Chip Kelly draft and Sidney Jones in the second round in 2017.
Now they’ve taken two in the same draft.
Last year, the Eagles allowed 253 passing yards per game – second-worst in the NFL – and became the eighth team in NFL history to allow 35 or more touchdown passes and intercept fewer than 10 passes.
They have now added Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Isaiah Rodgers, Mitchell and DeJean to the secondary since the start of free agency.
The Eagles’ starting corners last year, five-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay and 2022 second-team all-pro James Bradberry, are both in their 30s, and after a disastrous 2023 season, Bradberry’s future is uncertain at best.
Whatever happens, the Eagles now believe they have the heir apparent for both of them.
After spending 2021 as a depth backup, DeJean had a breakthrough 2022 season, with five interceptions, eight assists and three tackles for loss. He followed that with two INTs, five assists and two tackles for loss last season.
DeJean is the first Iowa player the Eagles selected in the second round. The first Hawkeye to win from Iowa was guard Curt Metz with the 30th overall pick (in the third round) in 1960. The New Jersey native never played for the Eagles.
The Eagles drafted a couple of Iowa backs in the fourth round – Damien Robinson in 1997 and Sean Considine in 2005. Robinson never played for the Eagles but had 13 interceptions with the Buccaneers, Jets and Seahawks. Considine started 17 games in four seasons with the Eagles.
“I feel like I proved that I can play outside and inside,” DeJean said at the Combine. “Obviously, I didn’t play safety in college. But I feel like I have the ability to play several different positions on defense.
“(It) helped me become a better soccer player overall. And I feel like Iowa prepared me for that, being able to play several different positions and understand the ins and outs of a defense.
DeJean has excellent ball skills, great athleticism and is a tough, physical kid. The problem with DeJean is that his tight hips will limit him in man coverage.
“I feel like I’m a physical guy,” he said. “I can run. I have a good feel for the game, that’s for sure. I feel like I can help in the running game as well as corner.
The Eagles have made do almost exclusively with veteran corners over the past 15 years. The only outside cornerback they have drafted in the last 20 years who has become a regular starter is Jalen Mills, a 2016 seventh-round pick.
DeJean joins a corner room that includes Slay, Bradberry, Mitchell, Rodgers and 2023 rookies Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, who also both had promising moments last year. The Eagles recently re-signed veteran slot Avonte Maddox.
Roseman said Bradberry is part of the Eagles’ plans moving forward, but drafting two corners this high makes that unlikely.
“I grew up playing all types of sports,” DeJean said. “I really like to challenge myself. I’m a competitive guy. I compete in everything I do. We can lift weights on a barbell, and I always try to be the fastest to do it. That’s exactly how I grew up, the way I am, playing all four sports in high school. It really motivated my competitive nature, my desire to win and do everything to the best of my ability.
The Eagles have drafted six players in the first two rounds over the last three years and five of them are on the defensive end – Jordan Davis, Jalen Carer, Nolan Smith, Mitchell and DeJean. The only offensive player is Cam Jurgens.
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