The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Cooper DeJean.
DeJean is one of the better overall athletes in the 2024 NFL draft, but he might not have all the requisite traits for the corner position at the next level. He has outstanding size, length, some twitch and explosive suddenness to his movement, although it was more straight-line linear than loose-hipped and fluid.
DeJean was at his best playing off coverage zone at a high level. He had excellent vision reading through the receiver to the quarterback and showed the plant, drive, quickness and burst to play routes in front of him. DeJean showed an excellent feel for route concepts and combinations in zone coverage, playing with outstanding eye focus and discipline. He reacted decisively to multi-receiver route combinations.
DeJean plays with physicality and competitive toughness, especially when moving forward with a little bit of a runway, and he will tackle with aggression. My sense is he is not a true press man corner, too often showing a little tightness in his hips and transition segmentation when opening his hips to turn and run with vertical releases. He did not show the sudden burst to recover and match the receiver through the route. DeJean would excel in press man in two-man coverage concepts where he could tailgate and undercut routes and use his excellent ball skills.
The question with DeJean is how he will be projected to the next level, with my sense that some teams will see him as a star (much like Jalen Ramsey was with the Rams), while others might project him at safety. I also believe he could be a full-time corner for a defense that features zone coverage concepts as its foundation.
The bottom line is that DeJean is a higher-level traits defensive back who could likely play well in multiple positions. His projection and transition will be a function of team and scheme, and his best fit early in his career could be as a safety in big nickel packages.
DeJean stayed in-state after a decorated high school career in small town Ida Grove, playing quarterback and defensive back and being a state champion in the 100m dash and 4x100m relay. He only had football offers from Illinois State and South Dakota State and North Dakota State, with Iowa coming in late.
DeJean became a starting corner as a sophomore and was named second-team All-Big 10 by the coaches.
In 2022, DeJean was predominantly the left corner in Iowa’s defense, but he also played snaps in the slot and in the box, depending on offensive personnel and formation. There were sub-defense snaps in which he played on the ball on the edge and in the box as a MIKE LB. DeJean almost exclusively played left corner from the midpoint of the 2022 season.
In 2023, DeJean again almost exclusively lined up at the left corner in off and press man alignment, with a higher percentage of his reps coming in off coverage. There were games in which he lined up predominantly at right corner, with Purdue being one of those games. He played more snaps of press man versus Purdue.
Overall, DeJean has extensive experience playing both to the field and to the boundary and playing multiple man and zone coverage concepts.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!