October 11, 2024
Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images
Cooper DeJean is expected to see the field this week against Cleveland, hopefully without a teammate throwing someone into him this time.
Cooper DeJean looks like he's gearing up to start at nickel corner on Sunday.
First reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday, the second-round rookie's expanded role and jump up the depth chart is expected to be one of the focal points for some on-the-fly defensive changes to the Eagles coming back from the bye.
DeJean, who the Eagles picked up at 40th overall out of Iowa in April, was working his way back from injury at the time, which hurt his draft stock, but came equipped with an ability to cycle throughout most positions in the defensive backfield as the main highlight to his game.
DeJean started returning punts before the break, but the overall process to get him settled into Vic Fangio's system has moved along slow and steady.
The 21-year old said he's only getting more and more comfortable with the defense though, and is ready for whatever the team throws his way.
"Been preparing like I'm gonna play, so that wouldn't change if my role changed," DeJean told the local media after practice earlier this week. "Just gonna go out there and still prepare the same way."
If DeJean does take over at nickel corner, he'd be doing so in place of veteran Avonte Maddox, who had just a brutal showing in the loss to Tampa two weeks ago.
But there's no tension there, DeJean said. Maddox has had no reservations about being a veteran mentor and helping to move him along.
"It's great," DeJean said. "Ever since I came in here and started learning that position, I've asked him questions every single day. He's been willing enough to help me learn the position."
Now it'll be DeJean's turn to show what he can do with regular reps in an NFL defense. But the process to get there doesn't change.
"Nah, I've just prepared the same way," he said. "I'm willing to do whatever they ask me to do. So if I'm out there, I'm gonna do that to the best of my ability."
Jalen Hurts also met with the media on Wednesday in a full press conference and said something unambiguously nice about head coach Nick Sirianni.
"Obviously some time away from the building for a little bit, but also really diving into some things, talking to my coaches, and really having great moments with Nick," the Eagles QB said of how he spent the bye week.
A quarterback speaking well of his coach shouldn't be an attention grabber, but going back to last season, as the Eagles were imploding and then going all the way up to Week 4's deflating loss to the Bucs, the relationship between Hurts and Sirianni has existed in an odd gray area, at least outside the confines of the NovaCare Complex.
As the Eagles were spiraling last year or struggling through the first four weeks of this one, whenever Hurts was asked about Sirianni, he always kept his answers about him short, indirect, and as a consequence, highly interpretable – which doesn't connect to good for most.
This week though, the overall tone changed up a bit.
Hurts didn't want to get too into specifics. He rarely ever does, but he did say as much that the emphasis this past couple weeks has been on hammering home the details and getting on the same page.
"We're the two leaders of the team," Hurts continued about Sirianni. "I'm happy and fortunate that we were able to come together in harmony and have the same goal in mind in trying to get this thing right.
"I got a ton of confidence in him, a ton of confidence in what he brings, everything he's been able to accomplish, and just continue to press on. Everybody goes through different moments, everyone experiences adversity, but we've experienced different levels of adversity together and we're excited for what's to come."
Though it'll have to be seen if that transfers onto the field this week at home against the Browns.
The Eagles are a manageable 2-2, but have been highly inconsistent, and when it comes to the struggles on the offensive side, both Sirianni and Hurts have to share the blame.
Hurts has had a hard time protecting the football and getting it out quickly, while the team overall has suffered from some questionable situational calls on Sirianni's part, mainly with fourth-down decisions that passed up on easy points through field goals.
In the best-case scenarios – i.e. the two wins over the Packers and Saints – overwhelming talent has pulled them through. In the worst-case scenarios, the ball doesn't move for them all that much and they get burnt, like they did at the end of the Falcons' loss and throughout the drubbing that got handed to them from Tampa.
Hurts, Sirianni, nor the entire team can get by like that. They know they had to figure something out.
"I think the reality for us is we just have to go out there and play within ourselves, within our identity, and who we are," Hurts said. "I think that's something we've been able to establish and we just have to do it consistently and trust everyone on that field. That obviously starts with me and my approach."
And the approach has to be much sharper from here on out beginning Sunday if the Eagles are going to have a chance.
*Jimmy Kempski contributed to this story
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