Cooper DeJean's exceptional athletic ability is becoming harder to overlook.
When the 2024 NFL Draft rolled around, and we began tossing around ideas about possible cornerback options, most thought Quinyon Mitchell would be long gone before the Philadelphia Eagles were on the clock in Round 1. What a surprise! He was still available at 22. Perhaps, sometimes, it's better to be fortunate than prepared.
Cooper DeJean appeared to be a more realistic option for the first round, but there was some discussion about trading back to avoid 'reaching' in Round 1. No one expected him to still be available when the Eagles made their selection in Round 2.
Fortunate fell on the prepared again. Howie Roseman traded up and got his guy. Fortune had again fallen on the well-prepared. DeJean and Mitchell were both finalists for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. It was given to a friend of the Eagles' organization, Jared Verse, of the Los Angeles Rams.
Philadelphia's future at cornerback looks bright thanks to these two. They are technicians who play like polished veterans five years their senior.
We seemingly learn something else about Cooper DeJean's athleticism every few months.
Okay, let's take some inventory. We've seen Cooper DeJean bury Derrick Henry with one of the most sound tackles of the Eagles' 2024-25 season. He picked off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl and returned it for six points.
That one doubles as the first interception by an Eagles player on football's biggest stage. More importantly, he helped the Eagles blow the game open en route to an exhilarating and lopsided victory.
DeJean can dunk. We learned that by watching some social media clips, we saw him throw down an alley-oop pass from Saquon Barkley.
He was one of the attendees at the Fourth Annual DeVonta Smith Celebrity Softball All-Star game at Coca-Cola Park, and he's the event's home-run king after snatching the crown from last year's champion, former teammate Isaiah Rodgers.
Who knew? Then again, maybe we should have. There seemingly isn't anything that he can't do athletically.
Keep this in mind as we near 'Red October'. If the Phillies need another bat, we may have found one.
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4 minutes ago
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