November 04, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports
The early returns for Eagles rookie Cooper DeJean have been everything the team could've hoped for.
The Eagles have reeled off four straight wins, now sit at 6-2 and currently hold the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture. The offense is a collection of highlight machines. The defense is swarming. Worries remain for the team, but on yet another Victory Monday, here's a new column on the Eagles thoughts currently rattling around in my brain...
Who do you think is the top-rated coverage cornerback nine weeks into the NFL season on Pro Football Focus?
It's not Marlon Humphrey. It's not Jalen Ramsey. It's Eagles second-round rookie Cooper DeJean.
Is DeJean the sport's best lockdown corner? No, of course not, but the grades support the eye test that DeJean has had an instant impact since being inserted into the Eagles' lineup as the go-to slot cornerback – a massive, massive upgrade over veteran Avonte Maddox.
DeJean had multiple drive-killing pass breakups in the Eagles' 28-23 win over the Jaguars. He's played 97 coverage snaps this season. DeJean is surrendering just 6.1 yards per reception when the ball has gone to his man. Among corners who've been on the field as much as DeJean, that rate is the third best in the NFL, per PFF. DeJean has yet to be penalized this season.
The Eagles' defense is ninth in points, third in total yards and seventh in passing yards. The addition of DeJean and fellow stud rookie Quinyon Mitchell has transformed the Eagles' secondary when coupled with new coaches in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Christian Parker.
I've written this a couple of times and have attempted to temper expectations for young players, but with the early returns roughly halfway through their rookie campaigns, the Mitchell-DeJean draft combination feels increasingly akin to when the Birds nabbed both Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown back in 2002.
Across the Eagles' first four games, when they went 2-2, they turned the ball over eight times. Since then, the Birds have gone 4-0 and have had just one turnover, which came on an egregious officiating error against the Jaguars. The turnover margin has flipped for the team:
| Opponent | Turnover Margin |
| Week 1 vs. GB | -2 |
| Week 2 vs. ATL | -1 |
| Week 3 vs. NO | +1 |
| Week 4 vs. TB | -2 |
| Week 6 vs. CLE | 0 |
| Week 7 vs. NYG | 0 |
| Week 8 vs. CIN | +2 |
| Week 9 vs. JAX | +2 |
The Eagles' turnover differential was +8 when they made the Super Bowl in 2022, the third-best mark in the NFL. Last season, amidst an embarrassing stretch of losing, it was -10. Luck plays a healthy role when it comes to turnovers, but having guys finish through on interceptions and Jalen Hurts himself playing mistake-free football will do wonders for the Eagles' ultimate ceiling, whether that's simply being a playoff contender or a true Super Bowl contender.
Saquon Barkley is coming off a 189-yard, two-touchdown game in that win over the Jaguars and did maybe, just maybe, the wildest thing I've ever seen an Eagles player do:
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UtCENDw6no
Barkley is up to 925 rushing yards on the season already and is over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. He's at eight touchdowns. His 5.9 yards per carry is the best rate of his career. He's a superstar. Can he win Offensive Player of the Year for 2024?
He'll be battling with fellow all-world running back Derrick Henry in Baltimore for that. Henry has been a force in his first year in a new locale, too. With Baltimore, Henry is leading the league in rushing yards (1,052), yards from scrimmage (1,145) and touchdowns (13).
Any other year, Barkley might have run away, with this, but Henry is putting up incredible numbers. The betting markets say as much. On FanDuel Sportsbook, Henry is the favorite for the award at -150 and Barkley is second at +200. It's similar on DraftKings Sportsbook as well with Henry being -125 and Barkley once more at +200.
When things zig too hard in one direction in the NFL, sometimes the game zags back. With defenses finally adjusting to a pass-happy league, smart organizations like the Eagles and Ravens have handsomely paid running backs with immediate results that speak for themselves.
MORE: 10 awards from Eagles-Jaguars
Barkley had his instantly iconic backwards hurdle against Jacksonville. DeVonta Smith had an incredible one-handed touchdown grab. Nakobe Dean had a quasi-walk-off leaping interception. Jahan Dotson hasn't produced much or really received the opportunities to do so since arriving in Philadelphia, but he made a hell of a catch on Sunday, too:
Sheeeeeesh, Jahan Dotson.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ioVlA3yrs7
That's great awareness and great body control.
Perhaps that play can forge some trust between Hurts and Dotson and the WR3 role can be expanded upon going forward.
The Cowboys are spiraling at 3-5. Quarterback Dak Prescott left Dallas' Week 9 loss to the Falcons. Prescott sustained both hamstring and throwing hand injuries. It remains to be seen if he will be good to go when the Cowboys host the Eagles in Week 10.
During the Prescott era, the Eagles have faced Prescott's backup QB three times, going 2-1 in those games. Prescott's current backup is Cooper Rush, who the Eagles defeated in 2022 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Rush, 30, is 5-1 as an NFL starter and over his whole career has completed 60.0 percent of his passes while averaging 6.6 yards per attempt.
The betting markets appear to be prepping for a Dallas backup to play, as the Eagles are nearly a touchdown favorite on the road at -6.5 against the Cowboys next Sunday (via DraftKings Sportsbook).
MORE: Eagles improve to 6-2 despite second-half stumble in win over Jaguars
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