Most of what takes place at Organized Team Activities for the Eagles qualifies as a nothing burger.
Spring camps, which are mostly voluntary, are an experimental time for coaches and players and a time for the base offense and defense to be installed.
Because not every player shows up – some show but don’t participate – players are often thrown into different positions and sometimes get deployed in different personnel groups than they’ve played in the past.
But occasionally, there’s a development that’s worth storing in the mental filing cabinet for sometime down the road.
On Wednesday, in the first OTA open to the media, second-year cornerback Cooper DeJean took some first-team reps as an outside corner. This is somewhat significant because DeJean predominantly played in the inside position – nickelback or slot cornerback – last year as a rookie, and played it so well that he was a major piece of the team’s top-ranked defense that propelled the Eagles to a Super Bowl win.
You might even recall this play that came from the slot corner spot in the Super Bowl:
COOPER DEJEAN PICK TO THE HOUSE!
📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/y4Q4bGTHE2— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
DeJean took those smattering of outside reps from a “base” defense look, which in a real game or real practice with 22 players on the field would feature five down linemen, two off-ball linebackers, two outside corners and two safeties. The Eagles typically use this personnel group when the opposing offense comes on the field with either multiple tight ends or a tight end and fullback. In this grouping, the extra down lineman takes the place of the slot cornerback.
In his press conference after practice, DeJean said he’s been taking some outside reps this spring in those base looks. By itself, that news isn’t that Earth-shattering. As Jimmy Kempski noted in his OTA observations, DeJean emerged last year as one of the team’s best overall defensive backs – why take him off the field if you don’t have to?
But under a microscope, it's somewhat significant because the Eagles no longer have Darius Slay at left cornerback – he signed with the Steelers – and are currently having third-year pro Kelee Ringo and veteran free-agent Adoree' Jackson duke it out to fill Slay's vacancy. So there’s uncertainty at that outside position.
DeJean played 88 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last year from Weeks 6-16, almost all from the slot, as the Eagles were one of the NFL’s heaviest nickel-usage teams. But the second-year pro from Iowa said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told him he'd work this offseason at both positions, which presents its own challenges.
“Outside is a little different mentality than playing inside,” DeJean said. “Understanding leverage and things like that. I’m still learning. It’s early on.”
Defensive backs typically crave the responsibility of matching up on the outside against the NFL’s long list of skilled perimeter threats. With success outside usually comes more accolades and bigger paychecks compared to slot corners.
The Eagles drafted DeJean last year at 40th overall as an outside corner but knew his versatility would lend well to starting his career in the slot, especially with Slay at left cornerback and rookie first-rounder Quinyon Mitchell on the right side.
DeJean played so well in the slot, an important position in Fangio’s scheme for a variety of reasons, that it would only make sense for him to stay there.
“I’ll play wherever, to be honest,” DeJean said. “Wherever they put me on the football field I’ll play there.”
DeJean even shrugged off a question about outside corners landing bigger contracts than nickelbacks, telling a reporter that he hadn’t “really thought that far down the line.”
What if he’s a nickel for his entire career?
“If I’m on the football field, that’s really all that matters,” he said. “If that’s where I fit in the defense that I’m in best, that’s where I can make the best impact for our defense, then that’s where I’ll be. It’s really up to the coaches and where they see my best fit within our defense. If that’s inside I’ll be fine with that.”
That last line – about his best fit – is the part worth filing away.
DeJean fit best at nickel last year because Mitchell played brilliantly as a rookie and because the veteran Slay was still playing at a high enough level to hold down the left cornerback job in his 12th NFL season.
What if competition this summer between Jackson and Ringo, a 2023 fourth-rounder, doesn’t impress Fangio? What if DeJean shows that he’s both the best option in the slot and on the outside across from Mitchell?
That scenario could possibly force Fangio to go back to the drawing board, which is likely something the veteran coordinator has already pondered and probably why DeJean is getting those scattered outside reps this spring and summer.
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Last year, when DeJean missed the first three weeks of training camp because of a hamstring injury, Fangio played Mitchell in the slot and had him practice there on the first team almost exclusively until DeJean returned and Mitchell went back outside. Fangio will have Plan B in mind.
Some teams have employed a double-duty approach, moving an outside corner to the slot when the defense changes from base to nickel and filling the outside void with its No. 3 outside corner. But these are discussions for later this summer.
Even on just a few reps in spring practices, Fangio is catching a glimpse of how DeJean performs on the outside, knowing that his left cornerback job is up for grabs.
“I think they would assess anybody who’s playing out there at that position,” DeJean said when asked if he thinks he’s being evaluated as an outside corner as much as Ringo and Jackson. “I’m still trying to learn that position and play nickel as well. Still trying to grow.”
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