What's missing for Eagles, Cooper DeJean at OTAs − and in life. Why Dallas Goedert returned

Yahoo

3 days ago

PHILADELPHIA − In case anyone needed a reminder that the Super Bowl champion Eagles are an entirely different team, in many ways, from just 3 1/2 months ago when they pulverized the Kansas City Chiefs, it was evident in what you heard − and in what you didn't hear.
Mostly, you heard silence and a business-like approach as the Eagles conducted their first week of organized team activities with a practice open to the media on May 28th. It was held inside the Eagles' practice bubble because of rainy conditions outside.
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You didn't hear the cacophonous sounds of longtime defensive end Brandon Graham, who retired after 15 seasons. You didn't see veteran cornerback Darius Slay going step-for-step with a receiver, or safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson talking some trash.
So yes, everything was different for the Eagles' young players, especially on defense, where second-year players like cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and edge rusher Jalyx Hunt − the Eagles' top three draft picks from 2024 − are quickly assuming leadership roles.
And that mirrors their lives and new-found fame as well.
DeJean became a media darling since his pick-6 in the Super Bowl, whether it was getting feted at the White House, or starting a podcast with safety Reed Blankenship, or running a football camp, or making a celebrity bartending appearance at the Chesapeake Inn in Maryland.
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But DeJean insisted that none of it has changed him.
"(Life) has been a little different," DeJean said. "Just walking around, I try to hide as much as I can. But it gets harder and harder. It's still not going to change who I am as a person. Just be myself, treat people the same way. I haven't changed, but things around me have changed a little bit. But I'm still the same person."
That perspective is necessary for both DeJean and Mitchell in part because Slay, Gardner-Johnson and Isaiah Rodgers aren't around to lead the secondary. So it's Mitchell and DeJean who are helping rookie Drew Mukuba work in at nickel and safety as he and Sydney Brown vie for a possible starting role next to Blankenship.
It should be noted that Blankenship was not at OTAs on May 28, which are voluntary.
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It was like this on the defensive line too. Graham and Josh Sweat left in free agency, elevating Hunt and Nolan Smith into more prominent roles.
"I learned how to follow (last season)," Hunt said about his rookie season. "We had the great BG, legendary BG, and Josh Sweat in the room ... a whole bunch of vets.
"With the group that we have now, just the youth, and how excited we are to play, the speed I think is going to be a lot different ... It's a huge loss just knowing the amount of reps that they have gotten and the football that they've seen.
"So you can't bounce as many questions off because they're not in the building. But I'm super excited for what we got in the room this year."
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And like Hunt said, it's going to be different.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Drew Mukuba (24) practices during OTAs at NovaCare Complex on May 28, 2025.
Mitchell knows this well. He's rather reticent to begin with. So he said the Super Bowl hasn't changed him at all.
"Nah, I just been the same dude," said. "I feel like I've always been the same dude ... I feel like we got a group of selfless guys. We've been helping each other out − the new guys who come in, the young guys. But I feel like we got a strong group. We got a strong bond and we just been connecting well."That brings us back to DeJean.
He spent a good part of the OTA playing on the outside at cornerback in the Eagles' base defense. When the Eagles were in nickel, he would move there while Kelee Ringo would play on the outside.
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That has always been one of the possibilities for the Eagles' secondary with Slay's departure. But DeJean said he would welcome just being on the field, and that it doesn't matter where.
"It's definitely a tall task, no doubt," DeJean said. "I'll play wherever, to be honest. Wherever they put me on the football field, I'll play there. As long as I'm out there, I'll be ready to play no matter what position – whether it's corner, nickel or safety."
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For DeJean, who grew up in Iowa and played collegiately at the University of Iowa, learned quickly about the mentality of an Eagles fan.
"It's crazy," he said. "Everybody in this city loves Eagles football. And you can tell that, especially after you win a championship. Going into next season, they're going to expect that same thing again. So you gotta find a way to put that behind you and get back to work, and try to do it all over again the next season. Because once that next season comes around and that first game hits, I don't think anybody's really going to be remembering what we did last season, that Super Bowl."
DeJean didn't need a veteran to tell him that.
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Dallas Goedert 'super stoked' to be back
At first, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert thought he was gone, a victim of having too large of a contract as GM Howie Roseman tried paring the payroll to fit young players into future salary caps.
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Eventually, Goedert said the pull of staying − even for less money − was greater than that of leaving the only team he has ever known during his seven seasons and two Super Bowl appearances for more money elsewhere.
Goedert said he had a salary range in mind of what he would take to stay, and it reportedly was a paycut from an average of $14.3 million per season to one year at $10 million, with incentives.
"There was a little bit of uncertainty going into the offseason," Goedert said. "We came to the agreement of the contract I'm on, and I'm super stoked to be back here. I got a lot of love for the people in this building. I got a lot of love for Philadelphia, so super glad to be back and we have high expectations, and I want to help us get back to where we were last year."
Contact Martin Frank at [e-mail]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles' championship season in 'Flying High,' a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles' Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell have new roles at OTAs, life