The Eagles Cooper DeJean and Avonte Maddox are phasing out two experienced starters

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio showed how much he admires rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean when asked this week if he's worried about DeJean also now serving as the full-time punt returner since Britain Covey is on injured reserve.

“Yes,” Fangio said.

Fangio was then asked how he deals with it.

“I don’t,” Fangio said.

Fangio then mentioned one of his favorite former players with the 49ers: linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who was also a key special teams player.

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“(Bowman) was All-Pro for three years there,” Fangio said. “He covered every mission for us for three years. And I didn't like that either. So you just have to deal with it.”

Fangio isn't the only one excited about DeJean's play since he became the full-time cornerback two games ago against the Cleveland Browns. The player DeJean replaced at nickel in the starting lineup, Avonte Maddox, is also impressed.

“He’s like a vet out there,” Maddox said. “He knows where he belongs. I’m not really surprised because when he came in he was always a little bit ahead of the game.”

But it's not just DeJean who brings youth and energy to the Eagles' secondary. First-round pick Quinyon Mitchell has started at outside cornerback since Week 1 and has quickly become a fixture. Mitchell ranks third in the NFL with nine forced incompletions. Opposing quarterbacks have a mediocre passer rating of just 72.6 when targeting Mitchell.

Additionally, safety Sydney Brown, the Eagles' 2023 third-round pick, is back after suffering a torn ACL last January. Brown is considered the third safety behind CJ Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship.

It's no coincidence that the Eagles have turned their defense around in the two games since DeJean became a starter. In the last two games, the Eagles defense has had more sacks (13) than points allowed (12).

The Eagles' young DBs will certainly be tested on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals behind quarterback Joe Burrow and his two star wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Mitchell will certainly face one of them, and DeJean could face one of them if he starts in the starting lineup.

But you can certainly see a changing of the guard in the secondary, as Darius Slay, who is 33, is the only player over 26 playing a starring role.

“It’s going to be great, man,” Slay said of the future of the secondary. “I'm going to be very excited when I leave this game because this room is going to be very well stocked with these guys. They're doing it right. They listen, they learn and they go out and practice” every single day.

“I really never worry about her. As a newbie, sometimes you have to worry about some people. You don't have to worry about these people. They are involved. We meet every day. They ask questions I was like a tower – many newbies are sometimes afraid to ask questions. So I know what they are capable of.

The Eagles have gotten a taste of the future secondary in each of the last two games. Slay left both of them out for at least a few games with a knee injury. He is expected to play on Sunday. Fangio said Mitchell didn't mind getting to the top corner without Slay.

“It’s none of his business,” Fangio said. “It doesn’t matter who plays the other corner. He plays his corner, and whoever is on the other corner doesn't matter. But Quinyon has obviously taken a lot of snaps for us, both in camp and in games.

“And he’s our starting XI. And he keeps getting better.”

The others are too.

Of course, the Eagles would expect their first two picks to contribute immediately. But it doesn't always work out that way. DeJean, for example, missed the first three weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury.

He returned in time for the Eagles' preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, but described his play as “ugly.”

The Eagles then slowly progressed DeJean, with Maddox starting at nickel and DeJean getting just a handful of shots on defense in the first four games.

That changed after the Eagles' defense was exposed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 33-16 loss on Sept. 29. DeJean was the nickel against the Browns on October 13th. He was sent to the blitz three times on the day, and was credited with a half-sack along with a QB hit.

Last week, DeJean was part of the defense that limited the Giants to 119 yards of offense and a season-high eight sacks.

DeJean did all of this while serving as a full-time punt returner.

“I like them both,” DeJean said of the defense and punt return. “They go hand in hand because if you can’t get a stop, you can’t have a punt return. So the first job is to get a stop on defense, then get back there and try to get as many yards as possible.”

Fangio may not like it, but he knows he has to deal with it.

Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl, on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.

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