A year after going to the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles collapsed late in the 2023 season, losing five of their last six regular-season games and getting trounced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
While they have given themselves a shot in the arm by signing star running back Saquon Barkley in free agency, they need help at multiple positions, especially on defense.
They have the No. 22 pick in next week’s draft, and per NFL Total Access, Brian Baldinger feels they should upgrade their secondary by using that pick on Cooper DeJean.
Who do you think the @Eagles should take with the 22nd pick? 🧐@BaldyNFL thinks @CooperDejean_ might be the perfect fit ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MIW0Nz389K
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) April 17, 2024
DeJean is a very capable cornerback who played his college ball at the University of Iowa, and he’s considered an outstanding natural athlete who has good field vision.
He also moonlights as a punt returner, and in that capacity, he had 241 yards and one touchdown on 21 returns last season.
The Eagles had a high-level defense in 2022, but it collapsed in 2023, partly because of some changes to their coaching staff.
When the year began, defensive coordinator Sean Desai was calling defensive coverages, but that duty was handed off to senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia in December.
Vic Fangio, who has had success as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears in recent years, will now serve in that capacity for Philly.
The team has had a nice corner duo in James Bradberry and Darius Slay, but both are getting long in the tooth, and at least one younger replacement would help the unit return to elite status.
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