NFL training camps are underway across the league, which means a new season filled with new opportunities is just around the corner. One former Iowa Hawkeye star took full advantage of his opportunities last year, speaking, of course, about Cooper DeJean.
DeJean had a fantastic rookie campaign, even if he wasn’t necessarily a full-time starter. But he caught fire toward the end of the season and snagged his first career interception in Super Bowl LIX to put the Eagles in a secure position to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Year two is loading up for DeJean as he looks to carve out a more permanent role in the Eagles’ vaunted defense. But even with the departure of longtime shutdown cornerback Darius Slay in free agency, DeJean isn’t in line to start at cornerback. Instead, he’ll be making a position switch.
According to Brandon Lee Gowton of SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation, DeJean took snaps at safety alongside Reed Blankenship in Philly’s base defensive packages on Wednesday.
“Fangio previously talked about this possibility back in the spring but we didn’t actually see DeJean line up at safety during the media-attended OTA and minicamp practices,” Gowton wrote. “It’s clear that the Eagles want DeJean to be on the field for 100% of their defensive snaps, as they should.”
In the spirit of the memes surrounding DeJean’s entry into the NFL, his moving on from the cornerback position will come as a slight disappointment to many football fans. Of course, the “Exciting Whites” aspect of those memes lives on with DeJean and Blankeship locking down the back end of the Eagles’ defense.
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Still, DeJean did become the first white cornerback, albeit at nickel, to start a game in the NFL last season since Jason Seahorn in 2003.
Regardless, DeJean’s athletic range makes him an incredible fit at safety, and with so much talent on Philadelphia’s roster, DeJean should be flying around the field to make splash plays in his second season and beyond.
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