Eagles' Rookie Defender Making Dual Splashes

Cooper DeJean has excelled as both a slot defender and a punt returner.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) returns a punt against the Cleveland Browns. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Ask Vic Fangio a question and be prepared, the Eagles' defensive coordinator is probably going to answer it.

"Yes," was the Eagles defensive coordinator's take on whether or not he worries about Cooper DeJean doing double duty on defense and special teams.

That doesn't mean the rookie star is going to hand over the keys to the punt return job, however.

“NaVorro Bowman, going back to my San Francisco days, who was an All-Pro there for three straight years. He covered every punt for us for three straight years,” Fangio said. “I didn’t like that, either. Just got to deal with it.”

DeJean has excelled since taking over the slot duties for Fangio against Cleveland in Week 6 and the rookie has also shown explosion in the punt return game while filling in for the injured Britain Covey.

DeJean is averaging a gaudy 14.0 yards per return with seven chances over the past two games, including an impressive 28-yard return against the New York Giants during a 28-3 blowout win on Sunday.

“He’s kind of shockingly more stout than people give him credit for,” special teams coordinator Michael Clay said when discussing DeJean's style vs. Covey's clinical approach. “You saw him run through a few tackles.

"But again, trying to tell him, ‘You don’t always have to run somebody over. You can get out of bounds and save those hits.’ But just like anything else, for a young guy like him, he’s trying to make the most of the opportunity and he’s doing a great job.”

Covey is currently on injured reserve and must stay there for at least one more game. He was one of the NFL's best punt returners last season at 13.9 yards per return.

“It’s always a luxury when you have two viable options back there,” Clay said.

For now, the Eagles are keeping everything in play with Clay even pointing back to the Patriots in the mid-2010s using Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola depending on the circumstance.

“You can add things in your game plan that you may not have been able to do,” Clay said. “Very similar to back in the day when New England had double returners with Edelman and Amendola right there, you get some opportunities. We’ll cross that bridge when we have to. We’re hoping Covey gets back healthy and [has a] speedy recovery, but we’re very confident in Coop going forward.”

The best bet is Covey taking the job back when healthy or even rookie Ainias Smith getting an opportunity if he's activated off injured reserve after the Eagles released veteran receiver Parris Campbell on Tuesday.

DeJean is just too valuable to Fangio and the defensive side. The rookie graded out as the best defensive player the Eagles had vs. the Giants, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He’s very coachable, got a good demeanor to play,” Fangio said of DeJean. “I think that’s a strength of his that will only get better. I think the more he plays and the more experience that comes — you try to expose them to as much stuff as you can in practice, but obviously with the low reps at practice, you don’t get that done always.

"But I do think he’ll learn. He won’t be a repeat offender. If he makes a mistake on something new, it will be in his memory bank and it won’t happen again.”

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