Eagles Super Bowl Star Called 'Revelation'

The Philadelphia Eagles' secondary is loaded with young talent right now.

Philadelphia didn't just draft one star cornerback last year, but two. The Eagles took Quinyon Mitchell in the first round of the 2024 National Football League Draft and followed up by taking Cooper DeJean in the second round.

Mitchell shined from the jump but the team had to wait a bit to see DeJean fully in action due to an injury. But, when he got back on the field and up to speed, he looked like a budding superstar as well.

He looked so good last year that ESPN's Bill Barnwell already called him the top slot cornerback in football.

"Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles," Barnwell said. "Yes, he's already there. DeJean spent the first month of his rookie season on the sideline, but after Philadelphia's Week 5 bye, his move into the starting lineup coincided with a massive defensive improvement. After ranking 26th in expected points added (EPA) per play on defense before the bye, the Eagles were comfortably the league's best defense by the same metric afterward -- the second-place Texans ranked closer to 13th than they did to first.

"It would probably be unrealistic to suggest DeJean was the single driver of those improvements, but he certainly served as a revelation in the secondary. From Week 6 onward, his minus-22.7 EPA allowed as the nearest defender in coverage ranked second in the league, with fellow rookie standout Nate Wiggins the only cornerback ahead of him, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He didn't allow a single touchdown on 68 targets. And while he didn't record any interceptions during the regular season, you might remember what he did to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl."

The Eagles are lucky to have DeJean and Mitchell together for years to come. The 2024 season was great for the young duo, but that's just the beginning.